Fire & Ice
by drotuno
Summary: FOURTH in the Gravity Series. When one of their own is threatened, the crew will have to travel halfway around the globe to get them back. What they find will have them racing against the odds to save more than just one life. AH E/B Series.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N… Oh, yes, Mercward is back! Hang in there, I need to go over a few things before we start. I promise to not keep you long, nor do I plan on uber-long A/Ns every chapter.**

**I need to thank everyone that PMed, reviewed, begged, pleaded, and bribed (yes, bribed) me to continue with "just one more" story in the Gravity Series. Another big thank you for everyone that said Mercward's my FAVE Edward. However, I'll be honest…I held off doing another one. Other plot bunnies came to the forefront, or it just wasn't time, or I wasn't in the right frame of mind, but I've had a plot outlined for this for a year. **

**Now…it's been two years since I posted **_**Smoke & Mirrors**_**, so I took that into consideration before deciding to carry that forward into **_**Fire & Ice**_**. We will pick up 2 years after the last story. **

**Another thing…I reread the whole series myself, reread just about every review, and I wanted to step back a bit, go back to how **_**Blood & Glory **_**felt…and **_**Sin & Innocence**_**, too, if I'm still being honest. I will warn you that this is as dark as the ones before it – darker maybe – but I'm not here to rip Mercward and Sweetness apart with drama aimed at their marriage. That's not how I work. We are stepping back into their lives just as we've done before, but this plot is like the ones before it – action, adventure, violence, foul language and lemony goodness (pfft! like that would change). If those aren't your thing, then this isn't for you. I STRONGLY suggest that you read the others before attempting to dive into this one. **

**Last thing, I promise. As usual, I've taken liberties with technology, simply because Alice wanted it. ;) Most places are real, yet mixed with fiction. Some places and events are fiction, yet mixed in with some true history. **

**Okay, I'll let you get to it. I know you've missed him, so I'll let you curl up with Edward. ;) See me at the bottom…**

**~oOo~**

**Chapter 1**

**EDWARD**

"Okay, guys, everyone line up!" Bella called from across the gym.

I glanced down at my son. "You goin', buddy?" I asked him, smiling when he shook his head fervently.

"No," Sammy whispered, giving his mom and sister a longing look, but his shyness was overriding it all.

When I knelt down at his level as he sat on the bottom bleacher, his big brown eyes met mine. "If you change your mind, we'll just tell Mom, okay?"

"Yeah," he whispered back, but tugged his hat off, scrubbed hair that was identical to mine, and then pulled the hat back on. Backwards, of course.

I sat down on the bleachers next to him, giving his shoulder a squeeze. He was now four, and if I'd thought Bethy was the perfect blend of Bella and me, I'd been mistaken. Sammy was every inch the two of us. He had his mother's deep, soulful brown eyes that took in everything around him with curiosity. His hair was a few shades darker than mine, but stuck up in every direction just like my own. He was calm, quiet, and quick to learn like Bella, but he'd inherited my shyness from when I was a kid. And just like me, he was good in situations where he was in control, things he was used to, but when it came to new people, new events, he would stand back and assess everything before joining in. And today was no different.

Today was a big room, new people, and despite the fact that Emmett's son, Caleb, was there, Sammy was still reserved about joining in.

The two of us looked up when a large shadow loomed over us.

"Hi, Preacher!" Sammy sang, holding out a hand to fist bump the large man.

"Little man, you've gotten big," he rumbled in his deep voice, offering me his hand to shake. "Edward. It's good of you guys to do this. I can't thank you enough."

Grinning and pointing Bella's way, I said, "She's happy to do it. She's been teaching all the kids for years."

"That's good," he conceded. "With this new bullying thing in the schools that's going on, not to mention just everyday scary adults, I've wanted this self-defense class for a while. And as you can see, I wasn't the only one."

I smiled, glancing around the pretty full rec center. "Everyone could benefit from what she's about to go over, then."

"Mommy kicks butt," Sammy said with a giggle.

I laughed and nodded. "Yes…yes, she does, but don't let her hear you say that."

Preacher chuckled, deep and low. His grin always changed everything about the big guy. At first glance, he could be considered intimidating. He was probably pushing six-foot-four, with a bald head and biceps as big as Sammy. The huge African American man was a great big teddy bear, especially when he smiled. He was a lot like Emmett that way.

And Preacher had become a good friend. He ran the Sunrise Community Center with a gentle hand, but the neighborhood with a firm one. Bella and I had seen the potential the center could bring and helped him out whenever we could. The whole neighborhood had blossomed.

We turned our attention to Bella, who had command of the basketball court. The floor had been covered in blue mats, and there were several rows of kids lined up watching her. Out front was our eight-year-old daughter, her best friend, Abby, and five-year-old, Caleb. They'd already done this with Bella before, but were there to help.

I could see Bella assessing everyone in the group. There was every age, race, and size, not to mention both boys and girls. A few parents and some of Preacher's volunteers were in attendance as well.

"My name's Bella, and what I'm going to show you today is simple, but will help you if someone is bothering you. When I say bothering, I mean when someone approaches you with bad intentions – a bully, a stranger…someone that you don't want touching you. That make sense?" she asked them, receiving a murmur of yeses.

Smirking, I sat forward, resting my elbows on my knees. If anyone understood self-defense, it was my wife. She'd been through hell and back and would never want anyone else's choices taken away. It had taken a very long time for her to push through the PTSD, to be receptive to touch, and for the longest time, it was only _my_ touch that she could stand. However, she still lived with it every damn day. She'd still falter occasionally at the top of the basement stairs. Every once in a while, she'd have a nightmare that woke her up sweaty and clinging to me. And very rarely, she would have a panic attack. The latter wasn't all that frequent, but all of those things were a part of her that we simply accepted.

My girl was beautiful as she smiled around the room of kids. Bella was just as fit as she was when I met her. She'd occasionally run with me in the mornings, but her workouts usually included some sort of self-defense classes. It didn't matter that she was almost thirty-five years old; she was the most beautiful fucking thing in the room – or hell, ever, as far as I was concerned.

"Okay, so spread out just a little and give yourself some room. Then, I want you to hold your arms out straight in front of you, hands up, fingers spread," she instructed, holding her hands out like a policeman saying stop. "Curl your fingers down, with your thumb on the outside. This is a safe fist. Okay? Bethy, come here."

She waved our daughter forward, and I had to smile had just how alike they were – long, dark brown ponytails, fearless little attitudes, and wicked smiles.

Using Bethy as an example, Bella went on. "You want your thumb on the inside, across your knuckles to keep it from getting hurt." She held up Bethy's arm, tapping the outside of her little fist. "This is the part you're gonna hit with. Now, everyone plant a foot forward and one back. This is the stance you want to take when someone approaches you." Bella, with Bethy at her side, took a boxer's stance – fists up, feet planted. "Now, repeat after me. Get back!"

"Get back," was muttered, but she smiled at them.

"Oh, now…you guys can do better than that. Let me really hear you. Get back!"

"_Get back!_" they all yelled.

"Excellent," she praised. "You say that, and you say it with force, and you'll not only get your attacker's attention, but other people as well. Good job." She turned to the side, waving Emmett forward. "My friend Emmett is gonna play the bad guy. I'm going to show you that no matter how little you think you are, how short or weak or shy you think you are, you can get away from _anyone_."

She positioned Emmett where she wanted him. He shot her a wink, but otherwise stayed quiet. He, of all people, took this shit pretty seriously. He was trained in hand-to-hand combat, was just a bit smaller than Preacher, and could hold his own should Bella truly work him over, but she wasn't here to do that. She was here to show neighborhood kids how to stay safe. And using Emmett was perfect because of his size. He was the perfect example that someone as small as my daughter could hold her own against a grown man.

Fighting my grin at that last thought, I sat back to watch as Bella instructed the group some more.

"No matter how big your attacker is, you can cause enough of a distraction, cause enough damage, to get yourself away. Even if they pick you up." She turned to Bethy, pulling our daughter in front of her. "With your hands still in fists, I want you guys to pound the air, like there's a drum in front of you."

Bella grasped Bethy's arms, pounding her fists in the air in front of her. Then, she nodded to Emmett, who stepped in front of the two.

"Using that same motion, you can ward off any touch," she stated, letting go of our daughter.

Emmett went to reach for Bethy, and she pounded on his large forearms. They moved that same motion on to the next phase, which was Emmett picking Bethy up. My daughter giggled, but knew to continue punching with the outside of her fists anywhere she could reach – Emmett's face, shoulders, upper arms, even the top of his head. At that point, he set her down, tugging playfully on her ponytail.

Bella faced the room full of people and her students. "It doesn't matter what size you are. You hit someone in the face enough, and you're gonna give him something to think about. You'll cause enough noise to get someone's attention, or you're gonna hurt him enough to distract him. Okay?"

A murmur of consent echoed in the large room.

"Last thing I want to show you is that you must be aware of your surroundings. Always," she urged, nodding to Emmett, who started to shift some shit around.

He moved large garbage bins, a couple of chairs, and some sports equipment to various places in the gym. Bella locked gazes with me, only to glance at Sammy.

I gazed down at our son. "You wanna help Mommy?" I asked him, because he was the perfect size for what she was about to show. "You're awesome at this part, buddy."

He smiled nervously, but said, "Yeah…okay," before standing up from the bleachers and walking to his mother.

She bent to his ear, whispered something that made him smile and nod, and then faced the room again. "Always look around you. Everything can be used to your advantage. You're faster, smaller, and can get into tighter spaces better than a grownup. And no matter what...if you have the opportunity to run? _Run_." She glanced to Emmett and then to Sammy. "Okay boys."

Sammy took off, obviously forgetting he was in a room full of people, because his Uncle Emmett had turned it into a game. As he dodged people, garbage cans, and chairs, Bella explained to the kids that they should always keep something between themselves and the person after them. In a last ditch effort to get away from Emmett, my son dove underneath the bleachers into the tightest crawlspace he could find.

Preacher and I cracked the fuck up when Emmett grinned over at Bella, and the whole room chuckled at him.

"Excellent, thank you, Sammy," she said with chuckle, holding out her hand for him.

He smiled brightly, crawling back out and coming to stand beside her as she finished up.

"Anything can be a distraction enough to get away. You can yell, scream, make noise. You can throw whatever's in your pocket at your attacker. The first reaction to something thrown at your face is to cover it, no matter what it is, so a handful of change could save your life. Throw it and run."

Preacher stood up and walked to Bella and, in his booming voice, said, "Does anyone have any questions?"

Bella fielded questions about age and how young this could be taught, and she explained that she'd been teaching our kids since they were about three or four. She also answered a few questions from grown women in the room that wanted to know what they could do. Bella's answers were precise and detailed, using Preacher as an example, much to the kids' amusement.

"You should use Daddy," Bethy piped up with a grin my way as I walked toward them.

"Hey," I said gruffly, sounding offended. "Just whose side are you on, little sweetness?"

She, Abby, and Caleb collapsed into a fit of giggles, which was one of the best sounds in the world, followed by my wife's, which came from right beside me.

"Do you mind? You're actually really good at explaining this part," Bella whispered, gazing up at me with those deep pools I'd never been able to resist. "Besides, you have all the ladies' attention now," she chortled, shoving me forward when I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, sure, sweetness," I agreed, facing the room. "Ladies, men may be stronger or faster than you, but really, you have all sorts of advantages, no matter which way they come at you."

Emmett had moved the stuff out of the way, leaving a pretty good expanse of padded floor. Bella faced me, wearing a wry smirk, but waited for me to go on. Reaching for her fist, I turned to face the group.

"There are sweet spots…easy spots that will give you a chance to scream or run. The eyes, the throat, the gut, the crotch. All of those places, if punched with enough force, will cause your attacker to flinch, or even stop altogether," I explained, using Bella's fist as an example to all those places. I dropped her fist and tapped her knee. "You can use more than your fist. A well-placed kick to the knee will drop just about any man to the ground."

Bella slowly planted her foot against the side of my knee, though without any force behind it.

"What if they come from behind?" someone asked from the back.

I nodded. "Good question, but the same places still apply," I replied, turning Bella around so that I was reaching for her from behind. "Don't break my dick, sweetness," I whispered in her ear, "but let's show them, yeah?"

She laughed, giving me a wry, wicked glance over her shoulder. With a nod, the fight was on. I simply used enough force to allow her to deflect. Bella was aware of my old knee injury, so she left that alone, though she used my stomach and throat as examples. With a few perfectly placed elbows, a sweep of her leg, I found myself on my ass, laughing as she stood over me. She grinned proudly, dragging that tongue of her sexily across her bottom lip as the room applauded.

Preacher called an end to the lesson, and the room started to get louder as people began to clear out.

"I'm not sure I'd fight that off if it came at me," we heard off to the side, and I didn't even have to look to see who it was.

"Hey, Miss Geneva," I sang, sitting up and grinning her way.

"Hello, gorgeous. How you been?" she said with a childlike giggle to her tone.

"As you can see, my wife still kicks my ass," I told her, smiling when Bella scoffed before hugging the old black woman, who was still sporting pro-football jerseys. Today was the Atlanta Falcons.

"Hi, Miss Geneva. It's good to see you," my wife said, moving so that I could hug the old woman.

"It's good to be seen." She grinned toothlessly back at us, but you couldn't help but love her. And she looked great. Her eyes were bright, her pallor much better than it had been the first time we'd met her four years prior. She'd been living on the streets then, but now she ran the kitchen in the shelter – the one my dad helped open – with an iron fist. And fuck me, the woman could make a killer meatloaf. "I was coming to get Preacher for lunch, but you're all welcome to come."

"What did ya make, Miss Geneva?" Bethy piped up.

"Your daddy's and Preacher's favorite, sweetpea. Meatloaf," she told her, guiding us all out of the rec center.

"Oh yeah, we're there," I vowed, standing up and scooping Sammy up into my arms. "Good job, by the way, buddy," I whispered to him. "Wasn't so bad, huh?" I asked him, bumping his fist when he shook his head no.

He grinned slow and crooked, tilting his head a little. "Unca Em couldn't catch me," he whispered back. "I won, Daddy."

Laughing, I tickled him a little. "I know. I watched you. Both you and Bethy beat up Uncle Emmett."

Emmett snorted, but grinned our way when Abby and Bethy cheered. "That's okay," he sang, pointing a finger at them. "Just you wait. I'll get you back."

"Oh boy," Bella sighed, rolling her eyes up to me. "That should be interesting."

After a fun lunch with Preacher, Miss Geneva, and several people we'd come to know from the neighborhood, we loaded back up in the car. Emmett, Abby, and Caleb headed back to Gravity, but Bella stopped me before we left Seattle.

"Edward, we need to make a few stops on the way," she said, grimacing.

"Yeah, gotcha. We'll tag team it, yeah?"

She nodded, linking our fingers together as I drove toward the store. Bethy was just about out of school for the summer, and everyone had decided they wanted to close up Gravity for a few weeks and spend some time with Aunt Kate in Alaska. However, Sammy had grown so much in the last few months that Bella wanted to get him a few things before we went.

When we stopped, Bella said, "I'll take him and get the things he needs. I know you'll want to grab a few groceries for this week before we go."

"I'm goin' with Daddy," Bethy announced, hopping out of the car and grabbing the closest cart.

Raising an eyebrow at Bella, I smirked. "Divide and conquer, love," I said with a laugh. "We'll meet you back here. Okay?"

"Sure." She giggled, kissed my lips way too briefly for my liking, and then scooped Sammy up out of his car seat. "C'mon, handsome. Let's get you some new sneakers and a sweatshirt or two."

"Oh! I want lights on my 'neakers, Mommy!" he gasped excitedly as they walked away from us.

The strip mall we were in had every-damn-thing in it, from a pet store, to kids' clothes, to a grocery store. It was the latter that Bethy and I would be going. I kept an eye on my son and wife as they walked away, but once they were inside the store, I gave my surroundings a sharp gaze. It was ingrained in me to eye every-fucking-thing around me. It was probably years of military training and working for my dad as a mercenary, it was the reality that my two girls had once been taken from me and that shit would never happen again, and it was the fact that we were still in Seattle, not home in Forks, that kept me vigilant.

The sun was beginning to sink low, the parking lot was fairly busy, and the thump of obnoxious music caught my attention. At the end of the strip mall's overhang was a group of boys somewhere in their late teens or early twenties. They were laughing, loud, and smoking cigarettes as they leaned against the wall.

"In or out of the cart?" I asked Bethy, taking control of the one she'd pulled out.

"Here!" she said with a laugh, standing on the rung beneath the cart's handle and leaning back against me.

Placing my hands on either side of hers, I dropped a kiss to the top of her head. "Somehow, I think you're getting the better end of this deal, little sweetness," I grumbled into her hair, smiling when she giggled. "Maybe I wanna be pushed around…"

"You'll live," she sang, sounding just like her mother.

I snorted, but glanced up when a chuckle met my ears. An elderly woman was pushing her own cart into the store at the same time we were, but she was giving us an amused expression. She looked frail, and her eyes were downcast to a little envelope in her hands as the automatic doors swished open.

A young kid burst out of the store, bumping the old lady's cart, which caused the envelope in her hand to fall to the sidewalk. What seemed like a thousand coupons scattered every-damn-where.

"Oh," Bethy said sadly, scurrying down from the cart and catching little pieces of paper before they blew out into the street.

My eyes locked onto the asshole that didn't even say excuse me. My lip curled as my temper started to rise when he simply grinned and shrugged as he joined the rest of his punk-ass friends at the end of the building.

"Here you go." Bethy's voice brought me back to the old woman, and I smiled as my baby girl handed over all those coupons.

"Thank you!" the woman gushed sweetly, smiling my daughter's way.

"You're welcome," Bethy said back, popping up between my arms again.

"I'm getting clumsy in my old age," she told us.

"I'm pretty sure that wasn't your fault," I muttered softly, but she heard me, chuckling as I gestured for her to go ahead of us.

"Not everyone teaches their children manners," she stated wryly, giving Bethy a pointed look.

Grinning with pride, I nodded. "That's very true."

We went our separate ways once we were in the store. I only needed a few things to get us through the rest of the week. After that, the fridge would be cleaned out, and if it wasn't in the freezer or cabinets, it was getting thrown away. We were expecting to stay with Aunt Kate for at least a month of Bethy's summer vacation.

The dreaded cereal aisle came up, and I dropped my mouth to Bethy's ear. "Don't you dare go crazy, but you and Sammy need cereal. Go."

Bethy giggled, scrambling down off the cart and studying the millions of endless boxes of sugary sweet goodness. Watching her, I smiled, my heart breaking a little every time I realized how big she'd gotten. She was so smart, like a tiny adult, and it was like watching a mini version of Bella. Her smile was beautiful, her eyes sharp, and I could tell she was just going to be stunning when she got older. We joked that she couldn't date until she was thirty, but fuck me, if I wasn't considering it for real. I'd kill a motherfucker for breaking her heart – or touching her, for that matter.

After an enormous debate, we settled on two boxes of cereal. Both would most likely be gone by the time we left for Alaska.

"We need presents for Lock and Load," Bethy announced as I guided us down the pet aisle.

Rolling my eyes, I shook my head. The two Husky pups that Aunt Kate had basically forced on us were the apples of my kids' eyes. Lock followed Bethy every second he and my daughter were both awake, and Load absolutely refused to sleep anywhere else but the floor next to Sammy's bed. They were pushing two now, and they'd been a dream to train. They'd meshed themselves into the family and crew seamlessly. With Jasper's help, we'd even incorporated them into Gravity. They could sniff out shit better than we'd ever expected. We'd even used them on a missing kid case not too long ago.

"I'm pretty sure they have treats, baby," I countered, my shoulders falling in defeat when big green eyes that matched my own gazed up at me. That was Bella's face all over – pitiful and begging, sweet and caring. And I was helpless against it when Bella wasn't here to tell her no. "Fine, fine. One bone each, Bethy. No more."

"Yay!" she cheered, reaching up to the shelf and grabbing a pack of rawhide bones.

"Okay, let's get out of here, little sweetness," I told her. "Your mom should be done with Sammy soon."

We got in line to pay, and I noticed that outside the glass doors, the group of boys was still hanging around. They were making a nuisance of themselves outside, but the manager of the store was a woman and was gazing nervously out the door. The little old lady that had walked in with us was in front of us in line and was currently paying as Bethy put our stuff up on the conveyor belt.

By the time that I'd paid, loaded the bags back into the cart, and walked outside, I couldn't see where the punks had gone…until I made it to the Volvo. Unlocking the back of the SUV, I glanced around to see that there were six of those motherfuckers…and they were currently harassing the little old lady, who just happened to be driving a really expensive Mercedes.

"Dammit," I sighed, slamming the back hatch closed.

Bethy didn't flinch at my language, because her dark, angry gaze was focused on the same thing. "Daddy, she's alone."

I inhaled deeply. "I know." My eyes narrowed when the boys didn't stop. Turning to Bethy, I pulled out my phone and handed it to her. "Get in the car, lock the doors, and call your mom. Now. Don't open it unless one of us tells you to. Got me?"

Bethy nodded, scrambling into the back seat with my phone and keys. I slipped out of my jacket and handed it to her. For a split second, I eyed the glove box, where I knew my fucking Glock was locked up with Bella's nine mil. Shaking my head, I let it go. This was not going to be pretty…or easy.

I walked across the lane to the Mercedes. The old woman looked flustered and nervous, because the boys were talking to her, taunting her, even poking around in her trunk, and she was doing her damnedest to ignore them and just get finished. But it was the bastard that had bumped into her that I was focused on, because he was reaching for her purse.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," I stated low, making them all glance up at me, but the blond kid with his hand stretched out froze mid-reach. "Ma'am, are you okay?" I asked, knowing the answer, but my eyes did another count.

Six. Six guys, most likely fifteen years younger than me, and some looked pretty fucking twitchy. The woman relaxed a little and reached for her purse, and that's when the shit went to hell. The blond kid made the huge fucking mistake of touching her. He grasped her wrist, and it was obviously too hard, because she flinched.

Without preamble, I walked straight to him, gripping his arm. "Let her go," I sneered, squeezing hard enough that he had no choice but to release her. Once she was free, I handed her the purse, saying, "Get in the car." Looking the boy directly in the eyes, I jerked my chin. "Get the fuck outta here."

They all laughed, the one in front of me snorting derisively. "You need to mind your own fucking business, man."

Grinning, I sighed and shook my head. "I can _make_ you leave," I vowed, raising an eyebrow.

"Dude, there's six of us and only one of you," one of the assholes behind me pointed out.

"Well, you can run grab a few more of your little punk friends, and then we'll be more even, yeah?" I taunted, giving them all a quick, assessing glance as they gathered around me before focusing back on the asshole purse thief. "You always pick on weak old ladies? Or do you kick three-legged dogs, too, you fucking pussy?"

Purse Thief made the mistake of swinging first. I wasn't even sure the old woman was inside her car before I was swinging back. Three full punches to his face, and he went down, but his buddies were already closing in. One ran at me, and I clotheslined his chest with a heavy swing of my forearm, causing his back to hit the parking lot with a sickening thud. I ducked a swing from a third, giving his stomach a heavy blow. A punch forward and an elbow back took out two more, breaking two noses in one swing. The last one ran at me, but with no discipline, and he was met with my shoulder and a slam to asphalt, not to mention a smack to the face for good measure. Standing up, I gazed around, watching as a couple of the boys rolled around in pain. Two were already starting to get up.

"Don't do it," I warned them, gripping my hair and preparing for another round. "You get up, and I'll kick your ass all over again." I rolled my eyes when one got up anyway, this time pulling out a knife from his pocket. It clicked open, and I chuckled. "You think that toy will stop me?"

He ran at me, knife outstretched, and I dodged the blade just in time to grab his arm, drop to the asphalt, and crack his elbow right across my knee. The sound of the knife skittering across the parking lot made me smile, but the sigh of barely there patience made me look up when the boy rolled away from me, cradling his arm.

"Are you quite finished?" Bella asked, giving the damage a slow assessment as she picked up the weapon that had stopped at her feet. "This wasn't a fair fight, Edward."

"I know," I sighed, brushing off my jeans. "I tried to tell them to go get friends."

Bella smirked, but her eyes were drawn to the car door that opened. The little old lady walked to me.

"You okay?" I asked her, eyeing the wrist the fucker had gripped. It was already flashing into a nasty purple bruise. "They shouldn't have touched you."

"I'll be fine. I'm tougher than I look," she told me, looking at my knuckles. My right hand was a little busted up, but otherwise, I was fine. "Thank you again. Margaret Hardy," she finished, introducing herself.

I chuckled, holding out my own hand. "Edward Cullen. And you're welcome." I gestured to the beautiful brunette that was watching us closely. "This is my wife, Bella. Do you need us to stay with you? Call someone?"

"Too late," Bella said, jerking her chin toward the two cop cars that were surrounding us. Locking gazes with me, she teased, "I can't take you anywhere."

I snorted, kissing her lips quickly. "Yeah, but you love me."

She grinned, shook her head slowly, and glanced up at me. "I do. I really do."

"L-Let m-me h-help h-her. She's alone. She'll probably need to press charges," I told Bella quickly and quietly. My stutter came to the front, simply because I wasn't sure what my girl was thinking at the moment.

She nodded, and I gently led Margaret toward the approaching officer. After a quick explanation, a few witnesses – including the grocery store manager – and a round of handcuffed boys, the whole ordeal was over. I wasn't arrested, much to my wife's pleasure, but the store offered up the security tape as evidence.

On the way home, Bethy recounted every second of that fight to her brother, who ate that shit up. Then I had to explain to both of them that fighting was only to be used as a last resort.

**~oOo~**

**BELLA**

"So he just beat the piss outta six guys yesterday?" Kurt asked with an incredulous laugh, shaking his head.

I grinned, gazing out Gravity's office window at the man in question. Edward was currently washing all three cars, and the chopper was probably next. Emmett and Jasper had some sort of equipment spread out over one of our long picnic tables. They were always trying to find something to give us an advantage. We weren't really working this week, though that was the question of the day in the office – whether to take a small case or let it go and start vacation early.

"He did," I sighed deeply. "It was incredibly brave and stupid and…and…sweet," I admitted in defeat. I turned to face my girls and Kurt. "You should've seen this little old lady, not to mention the bruise those assholes left on her arm."

As if Bethy needed another reason to think her dad was Superman... But it was true. He'd actually saved the day for one Mrs. Margaret Hardy, a widow simply out buying groceries for the week. When I finally got him alone the night before, I'd kissed him until his stutter returned. That last thought made me smirk and remember how I'd rewarded him for simply being a good man.

"Ah, no wonder," Rose murmured from her desk in the back as she flipped through her tablet. "Emmett would've done the same damn thing."

"Jasper, too," Alice piped up from her computer room, where she was currently soldering something together. I'd ask, but I was pretty sure I wouldn't understand the damn answer. She'd been prattling on and on about upgrades for the last few months. I'd finally given her a budget to work with to do what she needed to do.

"Yeah, Carlisle, too, I'm sure," I chortled, shrugging a shoulder. "And Alec?"

"Forget about it!" we all chanted together, bursting into laughter.

"Alec would've just shot them all," Kurt said with a chuckle.

Grinning, I turned away from the window and joined Kurt at the conference table. "Where's Mack?"

"She's taking this week off. Wes is about to leave for Virginia. He's teaching a class for the next two months, so she was helping him pack up and seeing him off," Rose replied. "But she's going with us to Aunt Kate's."

"Oh, so everyone will be there," I noted with a nod, tugging the list of case requests we had closer to me.

"Eventually, yes," Rose said, standing up from her desk and sitting down across from me at the table next to Kurt. "Mickey and Obie are already there with Kaitlyn. They caught a flight out Friday."

I smiled. Mickey and Obie had flourished living in Washington. They'd had a rocky start, especially when she'd found out she was pregnant with Kaitlyn, because at the time, Obie hadn't wanted children. But he'd proven to be an amazing father. Everything he'd missed out on when his parents had abandoned him and his brother, Tom, who still worked and lived with Aunt Kate, he was now determined to give to his little girl. And he did. In spades.

Kaitlyn was almost two and an exotic blend of her parents. With Mickey's Italian heritage and Obie's Inuit background, she was gorgeous, with dark, curly hair and brown, almost black eyes. Kaitlyn was shy and sweet like her father and had Mickey's sense of humor. And she absolutely worshiped the ground my son walked on. She was a funny little addition to that tight gang of kids.

"What about Carlisle and Esme?" Kurt asked, sitting forward. "They're coming, right?"

I took a deep breath and let it out. "They'll be flying in from Moscow when they're finished with some sort of Twi Tech business over there."

"M-Moscow? As in _Russia_?" Kurt sputtered, his eyes wide. "What the hell?"

Laughing, I nodded, but then shrugged. "I'm not really sure. Edward may know more about it, but it's some meeting he has to attend. Esme went because they were going to sight-see before joining us."

"Who's that leave?" Alice asked from the room behind us.

"Alec, Sarah, and Abby," I replied. "And they're coming, too. Aunt Kate wanted every-damn-body up there. Their flight is this coming Saturday, the day after school lets out." I turned around to face her. "The only ones not going are Eleazar and Felix. They're out on assignment."

Rose chuckled. "That means no one knows where the hell they are," she muttered, grinning when we laughed. "It's true. That CIA bullshit. They could be anywhere, doing anything."

"Okay, okay, okay," Alice chanted, coming into the main room and setting her laptop down on the table. "Let's see how I did. I want to run a test. Igor, engage," she commanded.

"_Good morning, Miss Alice,"_ a disembodied male voice echoed in the room, and there was a slight British accent to his tone.

"No fucking way," Kurt whispered, glancing around. "You didn't build this shit, right?"

"I did. Well, with a little help from Benny and a few Supernerds over at Twi Tech," she answered, grinning. "Igor, I need the layout of Gravity, please."

A glowing grid appeared on the conference table, raising up off the surface to show the layout of not only Gravity's office, but the entire property, including Edward's and my house. My eyebrows shot up as I took in every single detail…in 3D.

The doors to the office opened, and in walked Emmett, Jasper, and Edward, all of whom came to a complete standstill once they took in the graphic display on the table.

"Whoa…that's some _Ironman_ shit, right there," Emmett muttered, walking slowly around the table. "You built _Jarvis_?"

"No!" Alice laughed heartily. "I built…_Igor_."

"You channeling Frankenstein, pixie?" Edward asked, his eyes wide as he took in his property that was still floating on the conference table in glowing detail.

"No, it's an acronym: Intelligence and Graphics Operating Remotely."

"_Remotely_," Jasper repeated softly, narrowing his eyes at his wife. "You mean…this system would be patched into our radios or…or…some sort of handheld device? Like we could access it anywhere?"

"Exactly!" she sang, beaming with pride at herself. And she should've been extremely proud; that was some seriously cool technology. "Go ahead, ask him anything. He's completely patched into my system and can access anything I can. But you have to address him as Igor first."

Jasper nodded, giving us all a wry glance before pacing slowly around the table. "Igor…give me the last Gravity case."

"_Yes, Mr. Jasper. Case number 34297, also known as the 'Barnes Case.' Marisol Barnes suspected Jay, her husband of thirteen years, of cheating. She requested photographic proof, if not face-to-face evidence."_

Immediately, the layout of Gravity and the surrounding property was gone, and in its place was the case file – pictures, files, even the wire transfer of payment. Three large virtual screens spread out in front of us, one even playing the video of Mr. Barnes sneaking into a hotel room with a woman half his age.

"_Jay Barnes was recorded meeting Patti Lambert – a coworker – at the Days Inn in Port Angeles. The videos, photographs, and documentation were all presented to Marisol Barnes on the twenty-fifth of May by Bella Cullen. The case is closed. Payment was received."_

"Whoa," we all breathed, gazing over at Alice.

"I'm working on being able to shift shit around with my hands, but I need a little more time to upgrade Igor to that. So for now, he's simply voice activated. And…he's not without bugs. I'm still working those out. My goal is to have Igor simply to access information, which will allow me more time for more hands-on research," Alice explained.

Edward grinned wickedly, shooting me a wink. "Igor, give me everything you can on the computer system crash of the New York Stock Exchange in nineteen ninety-three."

Alice laughed, but folded her arms across her chest.

"_A virus was uploaded into New York Stock Exchange via dialup access. The virus was designed to remove and deposit one penny for every stock traded, bought, or sold. It took several months before the virus was discovered, and twelve-year-old Alice Brandon was arrested for grand larceny and fraud. However, due to the design of the virus and the defendant's age, the charges were dropped for lack of evidence. The virus syphoned off two-point-three million U.S. dollars."_

"Igor, where's the money now?" Edward asked with a laugh as we all took in the newspaper articles and TV news videos on the screens in front of us.

"_Nowhere, Mr. Edward."_

Edward's head fell backward with his laugh, and we all joined him. "No fair, Alice," he simply stated.

Alice grinned and shrugged a shoulder. "Designer glitch," she countered, but said no more about it.

"Designer glitch, my ass," Edward mumbled, plopping down in the chair next to mine as Alice disassembled Igor for more work. "But I have to say, that shit's impressive."

"No kidding," I sighed, gazing over at him and smiling when he leaned over and kissed me. "We were just about to discuss whether or not to take a case this week. Wanna vote, handsome?"

He shrugged a shoulder. "I'm okay either way. What's on the list?"

Rose nodded and got up from the table, picking up her tablet. "Okay, here we go. We've got an old cold case: missing woman from about twenty years ago."

"No, not enough time to start a cold case that old," I answered.

"Okay. There's a possible cheater case…"

The boys all groaned, but it was Edward that asked, "Male or female?"

Rose laughed. "The wife is the suspected cheater."

"No," he simply said, grinning when I cracked up. "What? I don't fucking feel like dealing with some cheating woman, sweetness. Keep going." He motioned with his hand to Rose, whose face was highly amused.

Rose chuckled, but went on. "Um, let's see… There's a possible security detail, but it lasts through next week."

"Nah," Jasper argued. "Nothing simple?"

The phones rang, but Alice picked it up in the computer room, putting them on hold almost immediately. She rolled herself to the conference table.

"Edward, they're asking for you. It's a David Hopper…said he went to Forks High with you?" she told him.

"He did." Edward frowned, but picked up the blinking line. "Cullen." He paused, his brow furrowing. "Okay, slow down, Dave." He pointed to the pad and pen in the center of the desk, and I slid it to him. "Tell me what happened." Edward listened intently, nodding in different spots, but wrote quickly on the pad in front of him. "When was the last time you saw him? And have you called the chief? Oh. Hey, Chief Clark...yeah, I can…or _we_ can. I've got to fuel up, and I can send Jasper with the dogs…" He paused again. "Okay, give us ten or fifteen. We'll be up in the air. You can patch into Alice for information."

Edward said nothing else, but hung the phone up. "Looks like we don't have a choice as to what we're doing next. Dave's father is missing. And the chief needs me in the air." He stood up, and the rest of us followed suit. "Alice, I need you patched into Forks Police and the camera on the chopper…most likely infrared. Jasper, Bella, take the dogs and head over to this address. It's in that retirement community. See if they can't lock onto a scent. It seems Dave's father has dementia or Alzheimer's or some shit. He'd been doing okay, but Dave said he's just started to wander. Usually, he finds him in the recreation center of the community, but no one has seen or heard from him since yesterday when the nurse came by. The nurse just called him a few minutes ago, said the place was empty."

"Okay," I agreed, pointing to Alice. "Get Edward a flight plan. Emmett, you ride with us, but I want you talking to neighbors. Rose, if this goes over…"

"I'll get the kids from school and Sammy from Mrs. Cope's. On it. Just go."

I stepped outside the doors. "Lock and Load!"

I had to grin, because two large, fluffy dogs came popping out of the dog door that Edward had installed in our front door. They galloped across the yard, coming to stand in front of me. They looked menacing, but were far from it, and they were completely opposite of each other. Lock was smaller, lighter in color, but looked more like a wolf than Husky. Load was big – damn big – and dark, making him look mean, but he was actually the cuddlier of the two. Together, though, they were smart as hell and had proven easy to train for searches.

Edward chuckled at their happy faces as he walked by. He dropped a quick kiss to the side of my head before tugging his baseball cap on backwards. "Constant communication, sweetness. Let's hope he's at a neighbor's house or some shit, yeah? 'Cause if he's in the woods, we're gonna have fucking rough-ass time finding him."

"Right," I agreed with a nod. "We'll patch in when we get there. I'll let you know if the dogs catch a scent."

Edward nodded, waving a hand over his shoulder before beginning his checklist for his chopper.

I clicked the remote for the Volvo SUV, popping open the back hatch and looking to the dogs. "Load up. Time to get to work, boys."

**~oOo~**

**A/N… There you go. We simply stepped right back into their lives. **

**I do want to tell you that these chapters aren't as long as the stories before it. That doesn't mean anything other than it was easier on ME personally as far as how this plot goes. And that's not to say they won't vary in length depending on content. I found that somewhere around 6000 words was less cumbersome than before. Pfft, that simply means there may be more chapters in the long run. And no, I don't know how many there will be at this point.**

**I need to thank a few people now…and will most likely thank them many, many times before this is complete. JenRar, who stayed perfectly patient while waiting for me to get back around to Mercward, but was a teary mess when she read this first chapter. MWAH ILY. My pre-readers – GooberLou, Inkedupmom, and drivingedward (aka Pamela Stephenson) – have been an amazing help. And Beffers87, who has made some GORGEOUS banners and manips, along with FallingSnow… Thank you guys!**

**Okay, you know the drill… I'll see you guys again Wednesday. Until then… Mooches, Deb **


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N… Um, I'm simply speechless with the reviews I received for the first chapter. And they just kept coming and coming. I need to thank you guys. Seriously. You also have no idea, but they all came at a time when I needed them the most. RL can be a mean, cold bitch. And thanks to all the well wishes on FB. So big 'mooches to all of you.**

**I'd like to wish sherryola and AllieCatnHeat happy birthdays this week. Two people that have been cheering me on for a long time. MWAH! ;)**

**I won't keep you… You've all got your theories kickin', my firefighters have started their bets already, and you're itchin' for more, so I'll let you get to it. **

**~oOo~**

**Chapter 2**

**BELLA**

I drove through the gates of the retirement community, waving at one of the local policemen. Because Edward had his own helicopter, we'd helped Chief Clark more than once. Edward rarely asked for payment, simply because he loved the small town of Forks. He helped because he could, because he had the ability to pitch in.

The dogs shifted in the far back of the SUV as we came to a stop where the chief's car was parked in front of a small cottage. Jasper and Emmett were out before I'd even shut off the engine. After hooking Lock and Load to their leashes, I met Chief Clark at the front door.

The chief was a good man, kind and laidback. He'd been voted in ever since his father retired several years ago. He was pushing close to fifty, with gray hair at his temples and a few wrinkles at the corners of his hazel eyes.

"We really appreciate this, Bella," he said, smiling and offering me a shirt.

"No problem, Chief," I told him with a smile. "We weren't really working this week. We're about to go out of town once school lets out. Is that Mr. Hopper's?" I asked, pointing to his hand.

"This was in the laundry hamper, so I'm assuming he wore it recently. I hope it helps."

We both glanced up when the heavy whomp-whomp-whomp of Edward's chopper blades vibrated overhead. I pulled out my earpiece, tucking it into my ear.

"Edward, I'm about to see if the dogs catch anything," I told him, taking the shirt.

"Ten-four, sweetness."

I glanced over to Emmett. "Em, go with one of the officers. Check any neighbors they haven't had a chance to get to – though, by now, all this noise would've alerted them that something was going on."

"Gotcha, Bellsy," Emmett conceded, joining one of the officers farther down the street.

I turned to the dogs. "Boys, sit." Two fuzzy butts hit the pavement, and two sets of bright blue eyes were on me, though their tails couldn't be still if I held a steak in my hands. I held out the shirt, letting them both sniff it. "Lock, Load…find."

Jasper took Load, and I took Lock, and the dogs walked to the front door of the old man's little house, only to turn sharply to the right. We walked through a neighbor's front yard, then the next, only to rush into the backyard of a third house. And that direction was what we didn't want, but I alerted Edward anyway.

"Edward…"

"I see you," he replied instantly, banking sharply over our heads as we stepped into the thick woods. "Alice, I need you to monitor the infrared. Tell me if what I'm seeing is animal, vegetable, or…human."

"On it, on it, on it," she chanted, and her typing was loud and clear over the radio.

Jasper and I allowed the dogs to lead us into the woods. The entire town of Forks was surrounded by thick forests. It was something Edward had hated when he'd first moved here as a kid, but had come to love over time. The people here were used to rain and green trees and cold weather, but they also respected the woods. It was quite easy to get lost in them, to get hurt while no one could hear you, and that was the thought that was going through my mind as the light of day dimmed once we were inside the thick canopy of endless green.

"Dammit," Jasper muttered, giving me a side glance. "I really hope this is a false trail…"

"No shit," I sighed, grunting as I stepped over a fallen log.

"Edward, bank to the left, please," Alice commanded over our ear pieces.

"Ten-four," he replied, and I could just barely see him through the trees banking over us.

The dogs paused, sniffed a spot or two, and kept going, but Jasper pulled Load up short.

"Eddie, man…I've got snapped branches and what looks like footprints. Are you and Alice picking up any heat sources?" he asked, kneeling down to examine a deep print in the mud.

"Yes, yes, yes," Alice answered excitedly. "Edward, stay right where you are. If I'm correct, then Bella and Jasper need to head in a northeasterly direction about a hundred yards from where they are now. Jazz, can you see where Edward is?"

Jasper glanced up. "Yeah. On it, darlin'."

"Good, because there's a heat source just below him, and it hasn't moved since he's been stationary. The deer usually scatter when he flies over, but this hasn't moved," she explained.

As we continued on in the woods, I noticed the dogs were pretty much leading us in the same direction that Alice wanted us to go. The woods got thicker, the brush denser. But I also noticed more and more signs that someone had come through here.

"Shit," I sighed, shaking my head. "Edward, if Alice is right and this is Mr. Hopper, then we'll need somewhere for you to land. I can't imagine he'll make the trek back the way we came, especially if he's hurt or something."

"I'm already on it, Bella," he answered. "If that's him, I'll guide you to a place I can set down. Got me?"

"Yup," I answered with another grunt as Jasper and I suddenly were dragged by the dogs with a little bit harder pull, which told me that the scent was getting stronger.

With Alice's continuous guidance and the dogs' enthusiastic demeanor, I had a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. Mr. Hopper was right ahead, and as we stepped around a thick clump of shrubbery, I let go of the leash, rushing to the old man.

"Got him!" I yelled over the radio, which was quickly relayed to everyone back at the retirement community. Kneeling down, I checked for a pulse, finding a strong one. "Mr. Hopper, can you hear me?" I asked, smiling when tired gray eyes opened slowly. "My name's Bella. This is Jasper. We're going to get you out of here, okay?"

The old man groaned, and I gave him a quick once-over. I couldn't see any damage, any wounds, but that didn't mean anything.

"Sir, are you hurt?" I asked him.

"My…ankle," he wheezed.

Nodding, I rolled up his pants leg just a bit to see the swelling, but the thing didn't look broken. But I wasn't Esme, and I couldn't always tell how badly someone was hurt. She was awesome at it.

"Okay, Edward, we're going to need you," Jasper stated, letting go of Load's leash in order to help me with Mr. Hopper. "Tell us where you'll be."

Edward thundered over us, flying fast, saying, "There's a clearing just east of where you are. Chief, alert the hospital. I'll be flying him in as soon as he's loaded."

The radio became chaos, but the voice Jasper and I focused on was Alice as we basically carried the old man through the woods. She tracked our slow progress, telling us to correct our direction once or twice. However, the constant thump of the helicopter helped. It was obvious that Mr. Hopper was weary, most likely dehydrated, and scared. He tried his best to walk with us, but his ankle pained him whenever he tried to put weight on it.

Edward didn't shut the chopper down, but thankfully took the dogs once we emerged into the clearing. Because the side door was so high off the ground, he had to physically lift them into the back before commanding them to sit on two of the far seats. He then rushed to us, ducking low beneath the blades, and took my side of Mr. Hopper. Between him and Jasper combined, they were able to lift the old man and move quicker.

"Bella, get in. We'll lay him on the cargo floor," Edward ordered, and I nodded, quickly helping them slide Mr. Hopper inside.

I held his head on my lap, saying, "Just be still, Mr. Hopper. We're taking you to the hospital."

The old man didn't argue, but reached for my hand as Jasper and Edward loaded into the front. The chopper lifted gently, the power increasing as Edward called in that he had Mr. Hopper and that the search could be called off. I heard Chief Clark call back that he'd meet us at the hospital with David.

Forks Hospital was small. In fact, it was so small that they didn't have a place for Edward to land, but the parking lot was big enough that he was able to set down in the farthest corner. Hospital personnel rushed to us with a gurney in tow as the blades shut down.

"We're staying?" I asked him as he slid open the side door.

"Only to talk to Chief Clark, sweetness," he answered, offering me his hand to help me down. "I have to tell him where exactly Mr. Hopper was found so he can fill out his report."

"Okay," I said, kissing his cheek as he put me down gently onto the asphalt.

"It's official," he sighed, wearing a sexy, smug grin. When I looked to him, he chuckled softly. "No more cases. Gravity is officially closed for vacation."

Laughing, I kissed him again as Mr. Hopper was strapped to the gurney and rolled away. "Yes, sir," I purred, liking the sound of a good, long break. But I liked even more the dark, carnal look my husband was giving me. "Later, flyboy," I chided teasingly, shoving him back a little. "Go finish this up."

"Ma'am," he grunted, his wicked, crooked smirk in place as he walked to meet the chief.

**~oOo~**

I wasn't sure what woke me up first: the bright sunlight beaming in through the bedroom window, or the smell of coffee, eggs, and bacon wafting down the hall like a delicious fog. I sat up, stretched, and glanced over at the clock, smiling and shaking my head. Edward had let me sleep in. Again. In fact, this was the third day in a row since we'd found Mr. Hopper in the woods and declared Gravity officially closed for vacation.

It was only nine in the morning, but that was technically sleeping in, especially to Edward, who tended to be up before the sun. And he did a shit-ton of things first thing in the morning. He'd go for a run, which now included the dogs, and once he got back, he'd start coffee, put the kids' lunches together, get Sammy and Bethy up and ready for school, only to drop them both off. If I was up, we'd sometimes do those things together, but Gravity had been busy the last few months, and I could tell all of us needed a little break. Going to Aunt Kate's was perfect.

I padded into the bathroom, took care of Mother Nature, washed my face, and brushed my teeth before making my way to the kitchen still wearing my T-shirt and Edward's boxers. Smiling at the sight before me, I slipped quietly onto a stool, reaching for the abandoned cup of coffee.

"Woman!" Edward growled playfully without even turning around. "Why _my_ coffee? Get your own."

I caught the giggles, simply because I couldn't help it. It was almost the same argument every damn morning, but it was just us. I sipped the coffee loudly, setting the mug down onto the marble counter with a thunk. "'Cause I can," I sang, grinning when he shot me a smirk over his bare shoulder, only to go back to the stove.

Shaking my head, I took a moment to just look at him. Eight years of marriage hadn't dampened our relationship one bit. And those eight years looked phenomenal on my Edward. He'd just recently turned thirty-five in June, and he was probably in the best shape of his life. He stood there in black basketball shorts, his running shoes, and his black backwards baseball cap. Broad, strong shoulders tapered down to his waist, his perfect ass flexed with every shift of his weight, and his biceps bulged with every movement.

My eyes fell to the ink that graced his upper left arm. _My_ ink. It was the Cullen crest – a pawing lion, shamrocks, and beautiful scrolls that wrapped around his strong muscle like a cuff. I loved that damn tattoo, simply because it represented family, it represented me and the kids and how we would forever come first in Edward's heart. It was a sharp contrast to the ink on his left pec, which was his Air Force rank. Two ribbons came to a point with a star in the center, USAF was written across it, and all of it was surrounded by four red stars. The latter were in honor, in memory of those fallen under his command – including Sam, the gentle giant that had been killed saving Edward after Bethy was kidnapped by a crazy woman seeking revenge against me.

Occasionally, I'd catch him cooking like this, only to be sucked right back to the first time I'd seen him after he'd pulled me from Miller's basement. We'd met once as kids, but it was the second time that meant everything to us. Edward had been harder then, almost cold, but he'd been the best thing that ever happened to me – calm, sweet, and protective of me, even from himself.

"Sweetness?" he called, smirking when my eyes raked slowly up his shorts, over his sexy-ass abs and that vee thing that drove me crazy, to his rather amused face.

"What?"

"Hungry?" He chuckled, holding out a full plate.

"You could deep fry cardboard, and I'm pretty sure I'll eat it, Edward," I snarked, grinning when he laughed again.

"Not today," he countered, kissing the side of my head and setting the plate down in front of me. Once he'd made his own, he sat down next to me. "We're out of cardboard."

I rolled my eyes and shook my head, but tucked into my breakfast. We ate in an easy, comfortable silence, with the newspaper spread between us. It was almost like our usual Sundays, where we'd get a few moments of peace before Bethy, Sammy, and the dogs would get up, taking away the quiet. Edward continued to flip through the paper, even after I'd cleaned up and started the dishwasher. However, when I walked back to him, he turned, pulling me between his legs and up onto the bottom rung of his stool. I wrapped my arms around his neck, leaning into him.

"What's on the agenda today, sweetness?" he asked softly, gazing up at me through eyelashes that women would give a right arm for, with bright, happy green that made me brush my lips across his. "I mean, what do we need to do before we pick the kids up?"

"Well, let's see," I sighed dramatically, reaching up to tug his hat off, if only to be able to run my fingers through his hair, which was in desperate need of a trim. "We're leaving day after tomorrow. Saturday, right?" I asked, and he nodded, finally just giving in and pulling me to his lap, his arms wrapping all the way around me. "Okay, well, we need to at least to attempt packing for the four of us. I'm glad the dogs don't wear clothes."

Edward grinned. "Yes, Bethy has more than once tried to put clothes on Lock, but he won't have it. I told her he was a nudist."

Snorting, I let that go, not wanting to know if he'd explained exactly what a nudist was to an eight-year-old. Sometimes, Edward's mouth got him into trouble with our kids and he ended up back-peddling to cover up the mistake. I wasn't sure what was funnier: the kids telling on him, or his stutter when he tried to save himself. In fact, what was deemed the most expensive swear jar in the world now included what Emmett had labeled "verbal vomit." It was for topics of conversation that should've never been brought up around the kids. And between all of them – Edward, Emmett, Jasper, Kurt, Alec, and even Carlisle – I was pretty sure there was enough in the account that someone could put a down payment on a house…or go to college. Either way, it had become the ultimate savings account, and it was for all of them, really.

"Anyway," I sighed, rolling my eyes at him, which made him chuckle, "we should at least start to get this place ready to shut down. Don't you think?"

He nodded slowly, inhaling a deep breath and letting it out. "Yeah, but I'll leave the chopper for tomorrow. And I'll get the bags from the basement for you."

"'Kay." I kissed him for that one, simply because despite the fact that I _could_ go into the basement, it didn't mean I _liked_ going into the basement. It was the leftover bullshit from Miller, and we'd simply learned to live with it. "So what do you want to do first?"

"You."

His smile was slow and crooked as he dragged his tongue sexily across his bottom lip, but it was his eyes that said it all. They became hooded and dark, almost hazy with the ideas that were flitting through his mind. I laughed, my head falling back, but I hugged him close when his chuckling kiss met the skin of my throat.

"C'mon, sweetness," he urged, sounding like the devil himself. "Listen," he rumbled, brushing kiss after kiss up my neck to the spot behind my ear. "It's so quiet. We've got the whole fucking place to ourselves. No crew. No kids. How often does that happen?"

"Hardly ever." Even to my own ears, my voice sounded defeated, and Edward heard it from a mile away, because he smiled against my skin.

"Exactly, baby," he crooned, ghosting his lips back across my throat in order to shower the other side of my neck with the same attention. Strong, calloused hands, slipped beneath my shirt, and I gasped. "Please, love. I'll help with laundry, packing, whatever…"

I cut him off, threading my fingers into his hair and pulling his face up so that I could look him in the eye. "You need to check in with your dad."

He groaned like a petulant teenager. "Please, _please_ don't mention my dad when you're on my lap smelling like flowers, sin, and fuck me, _the heat_, baby." His hands left my shirt, only to cup my ass and pull me closer.

Groaning aloud at the feel of him through his basketball shorts, my forehead thumped gently to his. "Edward…" I started to reprimand, but he interrupted me.

"I-I'll c-call h-him, I-I s-swear. But damn, love…"

I'd suspected for years that Edward knew what his stutter did to me. Bethy had outgrown hers, and Sammy never developed one, but Edward's was everything to me. It was pure honesty and adorable goodness. But it was also very sexy to me, because it was the real Edward, the Edward I'd met when we were just twelve and thirteen. It was the Edward that had sputtered through his first "I love you" to me, because it not only came with honesty, but with a tilt of his head, a vulnerable gaze, and a tighter grip of his hands.

He was impossible to ignore, especially when he was completely right about never having the place to ourselves. It didn't help that he was warm, smelling of fresh air and salty sweat from his run, his stubble and dark eyes giving him a deadly, bad-boy look, and his too-long hair already looking like we'd gone three rounds in bed.

Leaning in, I surrendered, kissing him stupid. We had hours before the kids needed to be picked up and then all day tomorrow to get ready to leave for Alaska. Devouring my husband had just bumped up to the top of the list of things to do for the day.

A deliciously deep, sexy groan vibrated out of him against my chest, making my nipples peak tight beneath my shirt. He kept one hand on my ass, urging me to grind against him, but the other hand slipped into my hair at the base of my neck, forcing my head to turn so that he could claim my mouth.

Nipping at my bottom lip, he tugged on my hair just enough to pull my face away from his. "Alone, Bella," he rasped, licking his lips. "I don't want you quiet. We _always _have to be fucking quiet. I want to hear every-damn-thing. Got me?" he commanded, grinning when I whimpered a little and nodded. "Good."

With that said, he tightened his grip on me, keeping me wrapped around him and slipping down from the kitchen stool. His footsteps were heavy down the hall, but he practically slammed the bedroom door closed behind us.

Taking a few steps into the room, he stopped at the side of the bed. "Put your feet down."

I did as I was told, finding myself standing on the mattress. Grinning at how being taller than Edward gave me control, I grasped either side of his face and kissed the ever-loving shit out of him – heavy, deep thrusts of tongues, soft sweeps of lips, and harsh exhales against cheeks.

Long, calloused fingers caressed my thighs, my hips, and cupped my ass, only to make the circuit again and again. Our tongues slid languidly together, and Edward tasted of coffee, but I didn't care, especially when his fingers finally slipped between my legs.

"Jesus, sweetness," he panted, breaking our kiss, but his lips brushed against mine when he spoke. "You're so hot. Are you wet, too?"

I nodded fervently. "Yes," I whispered, pressing my forehead to his in order to catch my breath.

Barely moving, Edward kicked out of his sneakers and toed off his socks. When he was done, he grasped my shirt and pulled it quickly off over my head. His eyes blackened to pitch as they followed the path his hands were leaving on my body. There were certain things Edward always did, and one was the reverence he paid to my scars. Some had faded over the years, but a few remained. He leaned in, inhaling my skin as he dragged his lips across my sternum, over my stomach, and along the edge of the boxers I was wearing. With a swift yank, those same boxers pooled at my feet, leaving me completely bare in front of him.

"Lie down, love," he ordered softly, rubbing the outside of my thighs. "I want to see you spread out for me."

Stepping out of the boxers, I lay down across the bed, licking my lips when he removed his shorts. His cock was hard, thick, and already leaking.

"Needy, baby?" I asked, holding back my moan of want when his hand wrapped around his shaft.

"For fucking _days_, Bella," he answered, which was exaggerating things a bit, considering he'd woken me up the day before with naughty fingers and deliciously dirty words.

Grinning, I opened my arms and legs for him, and he crawled up my body to brace his arms on either side of my head.

"Try just _a day_, handsome," I countered with a smirk when he chuckled.

"Still too long," he grumbled, diving for my mouth again.

When our bare skin slipped together, we both moaned, my legs pulling him closer, my arms wrapping around his neck and gripping his shoulder.

"I-if I-I c-could h-have y-you e-every d-day, I-I w-would," he sputtered, shrugging one shoulder before lowering his head to kiss my collarbone.

A shiver racked my frame at his sweet stutter, and I pulled at him and pressed a kiss to his Air Force ink, whispering, "No foreplay, Edward. Just fuck me."

His whole body surged forward, and he braced his weight on one hand. Licking the pads of his fingers, he reached between us, lined himself up at my entrance, and thrust deliciously deep. The feeling of being complete, of feeling whole and full and perfect, washed over me.

"Fuck!" I grunted, my eyes rolling back as my head pressed into the bed.

"Yes," he hissed, freezing for just a moment. "I'm not fucking kidding, Bella. I want every sound you'll give me."

It was a really good thing no one else was home, because we weren't quiet. We were loud, urging each other on, and with every orgasm Edward gave me, my voice and language got worse. The bed was destroyed, our bodies covered in sweat, and we only moved our activities from the bedroom to the shower when it was all said and done.

By the time we were clean, dressed, and completely sated, I could've slept for another eight hours, but as it was, we needed to at least try to start packing up the place before going to get the kids from school.

**~oOo~**

**EDWARD**

With the phone pressed to my ear, I headed into the basement. The sound of cartoons in the living room, the smell of dinner cooking in the kitchen, and the thumping of someone's sneakers in the dryer created a cacophony of noise that simply meant "home." Smiling at that thought, I walked to the storage shelves as I waited for my dad to pick up. Due to the large time difference – eleven hours – I'd decided to wait to call him until the kids were home and dinner was in the oven.

"It's five o'clock in the morning, son," he answered grumpily.

Chuckling, I said, "Hello, sunshine. I'm merely checking on you. No need to be an ass. You were up anyway. Admit it."

His laugh was soft, but he sighed deeply. "Actually, you're right. I just got back from grabbing a cup of coffee. How are Bella and my grandkids?"

"I'm just peachy, Dad. Thanks for fucking asking," I grumbled under my breath, rolling my eyes when he laughed, even though he couldn't see me, and pulled down two rather large suitcases from the top shelf. "They're fine. We're getting ready to head out to Aunt Kate's on Saturday. Bella and I wanted to know when you were joining us. You almost done there, or what?"

"I'd like to say I was," he said wearily. "I have another meeting later today that will determine whether I have to visit the mine or not."

I shook my head as I dug around on the shelves for a couple of duffle bags for the kids. "Damn, Dad, the mine is like twelve hundred miles from Moscow. Really?"

"My goal was originally to come here to remove Twi Tech from anything to do with that mine, but…they're swearing to me they've made some changes."

Frowning, I dropped the two bags on top of the luggage I'd pulled out and leaned back against the shelves. When my dad had originally approached me concerning his trip to Russia, I'd balked, telling him to have the meetings via webcam, but he'd promised me that he had it all under control. Twi Tech had technically inherited Norilsk Mining Centre via Charlie, Bella's father. Charlie had acquired it in a hostile takeover of a Moscow bank, which had owned the nickel mine. The problem became the environment around said mine. It pushed out chemicals that were making the surrounding town sick – the surrounding town where most of its occupants worked at the mine.

My dad had wanted to remove Twi Tech's name from it all. He'd been slowly ridding the company of any subsidiaries that were bad for business, and while Norilsk was the biggest producer of nickel in the world, it was a festering sore on the planet environmentally.

"I don't know, Dad. Is it worth it? Can't you just sell it? Something about you two being over there isn't sitting right with me," I admitted, shrugging a shoulder he couldn't see.

"Me, either, Edward, but I don't really have a choice. I couldn't send Jake over here. I needed him for situations at the office," he explained, and I resisted the urge to say something shitty about Bella's cheating ex. "Let me see how this meeting goes, and then I'll have a better lock on things."

Sighing, I scrubbed my face. "Fine, but do me a favor, yeah? Just…humor me and toss one of Alice's GPS chips on you, because these guys sound like they're jerkin' you around. Got me?"

He chuckled. "I'm covered, and so is Esme. Promise. Have Alice check if you're feeling twitchy."

"Fair enough," I conceded.

"Look, son," he said with a deep sigh, "the mine is profitable, but the people who run it cut corners every way imaginable. If I can stop that, then we'll be okay. There's another mine approximately eleven hundred miles south of there that's a good example of how it should be. The community is clean, including the prison there, and they still turn a profit. Sergei wants to see how it's done, but that would require a few trips in the jet. _If_ I decide to do that, Edward, I promise to keep you posted. Okay?"

"Fine, but I don't like it," I stated firmly. "I just don't. And don't think I won't have Alice run a background check on this Sergei asshole."

"She did already. For me. Have her show you once you get to Aunt Kate's."

"'Kay," I grunted, pressing my phone back between my ear and shoulder. I picked up all the bags and lugged them up the stairs. "Check in soon, yeah?"

"Ten-four," he agreed. "Give my grandkids kisses from Poppy and Gamma. And tell Bella we'll both call with updates."

"Okay, Dad."

The call was ended, and I walked through the house to the kitchen, dropping the bags onto the floor. Bella's eyes were on me, her brow furrowed.

"What's wrong?" she asked, checking the chicken in the oven.

I shook my head. "I thought when Dad went over there that he was just going to sell that mine and come home, but it looks like they're trying to suck him into something else. I don't like it."

"He's not stupid, Edward. In fact, he's pretty sharp. He'll see a ruse a mile away," she countered.

Nodding in agreement, I sighed. "I know you're right, but I want Alice monitoring them at all times once we get to Alaska. He's in a secure hotel, but…" I shook my head slowly. "Maybe we should've sent Alec with them."

"Alec offered, but your dad declined," she said softly, walking to me and cupping my face. Bella paused, her eyes studying mine, only to nod once. "Okay. I'll tell Alice when we get there. She and Jasper are flying out in the morning. I'll have her set up at Aunt Kate's as soon as she gets settled in. Will that make you feel better?"

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly through my nose. It was one thing when my dad had to travel for business; he did it all the time. But the way this Sergei asshole insisted that he fly to Russia for "meetings" didn't sit well with me. He wouldn't hear of a phone conference or a Skype session. He had insisted that my dad come in person.

"Yeah," I finally conceded to my beautiful girl with a small nod. "But have her do me a favor… Have her dig as deep as she can on Sergei Maslov. Deeper than she did for my dad, which needs to include people he associates with."

Bella smirked a little, leaning in to kiss me. "Will do, baby. Now, go get your kids. It's almost time to eat."

**~oOo~**

"Get down, get down," I hissed, diving behind a large fallen fir tree. I checked my weapon as Emmett fell down into place beside me. Glancing over, I asked, "Where were they?"

Grinning, he used silent hand signals: two at twelve o'clock and two circling the area.

"And Alec?" I asked in a whisper.

"He's covering the rear," he replied almost silently.

"Got it." I chuckled, shaking my head. "You sweep to the left. I'll take the right. We should trap them all."

He snorted, nodded, and silently shouldered his weapon. "Meet you in the middle."

"Ten-four."

I used the edge of the woods to circle around to the right, staying low and quiet. However, I had to dive behind a large rock when the sound of yelling met my ears.

"Kids! Let's go!" Bella called from the house.

"Aw, Mom! We haven't found them yet!" Bethy argued.

Bella laughed, giving the woods around the house a sweep of her hand. "And you probably won't. In fact, I'd guess all three of them are watching you right now."

Smiling, I shook my head. My kids, Abby, and Caleb loved to play hide and seek, but Emmett and I had kicked it up a notch. We'd added water guns, and not just any water guns – Super Soakers. Everyone wore white, throw-away T-shirts, and each team used a different watercolor in their gun. Whichever team came out the cleanest was declared the winner. Today, Emmett had added colored water inside balloons. We had water grenades. It was war at its most fun and innocent, and we all probably took it too seriously.

We were celebrating the fact that the kids were out of school, that it was a bright, warm Saturday morning, and that we'd be flying out later today. Alec, Sarah, and Abby were catching a flight in a few hours. Rose, Emmett, and Caleb were flying out on Sunday. By Monday morning, Aunt Kate's house would be overflowing with just about all of us.

"You guys need to change clothes and eat. Sarah, you're about to head to the airport."

"Aw, crap," Caleb growled, sounding just like his dad. "We had them, too."

"No, we didn't," Sammy piped up softly, giving the whole yard a slow gaze, and I smirked at how quiet and unassuming he was…and brilliant, because his next statement was genius. "Lock and Load, find Daddy."

"Cheater!" I hissed with a laugh, but it worked.

The two large dogs scampered off the porch, where they'd been watching the game with somewhat amused grins on their faces. Their noses to the ground, they started tracking my every step I'd taken once the kids had started counting.

"Dammit," I snorted, scrambling up as quietly as I could, continuing on my path around to the side of the house.

I caught sight of Alec, who was highly amused at the whole thing, and I silently told him to meet me on the opposite side of the house behind Bethy's treehouse. We crept slowly, plastering our backs against the trunk. Emmett was using my woodshop for cover, grinning as he palmed two full balloons. But just as Lock and Load were rumbling through the woods, still hot on my trail, Alec, Emmett, and I stepped out, catching the kids – and poor Bella, who dove for cover onto the porch with a curse – in the crossfire.

Emmett tossed the two balloons – one at Bethy and one at Caleb – at the same time Alec and I opened fire on Abby and Sammy. The result was squeals, screams, and little legs scurrying for cover. Red and blue water sprayed everywhere. Sammy squeezed the trigger, drenching me in bluish water square in the chest, while Sarah launched a balloon Alec's way, catching his shoulder. Bethy and Caleb double-teamed Emmett, so by the time Rose shot a piercing whistle from the front porch, we all came to a standstill. Every last one of us were fucking dripping wet and, due to the colors we'd picked…purple.

"Baths, clean clothes, lunch…in that order. Now!" Rose ordered, but her amusement was all over her face.

"Go, go, go!" Bella added with a laugh, shaking her head and meeting my gaze. "Really, Edward?"

Grinning, I shrugged, glancing down at my T-shirt. It looked tie-dyed. "Kill 'em all, and let God sort 'em out."

"Shut up," she chortled, pointing toward the chopper. "Are you ready?"

"Yeah, love." I snickered, walking to her. "We're set. We can leave when you're ready."

"Don't you dare touch me," she growled playfully, gesturing a finger to my dripping shirt. "Strip that off and hit the showers, flyboy."

Reaching back, I grabbed the back of my shirt, which was completely dry, and yanked it off over my head. With a grin, I chucked it into the garbage.

"If you want me naked, sweetness, all you had to do is ask," I whispered to her, kissing her cheek as I made my way into the house.

She shoved me through the door, but laughed. "Shower…go. And make sure the kids don't drip all over our floor."

Bethy and Abby took the hallway bathroom, two giggly brunettes that made me smile. I took the boys with me, shoving Caleb and Sammy into the shower in Bella's and my room. After a lunch of the kids' favorite – chili dogs – Alec left with his family for the airport. Rose, per Alice's instructions, went out to the Gravity office to make sure Igor was up and running. She was going to access him remotely from Alaska.

Emmett helped me with last-minute security measures just before I loaded two kids, two dogs, and Bella into the chopper, not to mention all the shit that "just had to go" into the cargo hold. Cameras, security codes, and motion sensors were all turned on. The house, the office, and my woodshop were all double-locked and alarms set. I called Chief Clark to let him to know we would be gone for at least a month, and he promised to keep check on the place for me and to call if anything happened.

"Little sweetness, I need my co-pilot!" I called, smiling when my baby girl ran across the yard.

Some things didn't change. Bethy was, and probably always would be, in the co-pilot seat of the chopper. It had been that way most of her life. Occasionally, Sammy would ask to sit there, but it wasn't his thing. He loved to fly with me, but he was a lot like Bella, who liked to look out at the shit going by beneath us. Plus, he liked sitting with Lock and Load. Bethy, however, loved the technical side of flying. She loved reading the gauges, telling me where we were, and monitoring our progress. I was pretty damn sure I'd have to pay for flying lessons eventually.

Bethy scrambled up into the seat. Her affinity for colors as when she was a baby was still ever-present. Today, the color was pink – pink Chucks, pink Air Force hoodie, and a pink backwards baseball cap, all paired with jeans. She pulled on her headset, nodding to me.

Unable to help myself, I leaned in and kissed her forehead. "Good girl."

I lifted Lock and Load into the back, and they took their usual seats as I set my son up there next.

"You ready?" I asked him, smiling when he grinned and nodded. "Then, strap in, son." I handed him his cap and ruffled his hair. "You and I have to get a trim from Aunt Kate," I told him with a laugh. "She can shear us like the sheep."

He giggled, pulling his hat on backwards, and crawled up into his seat.

"Not too short, either of you," Bella countered, smiling when I lifted her, too, up into the cabin. "I love your hair. So leave some on top, yeah?"

"Yes, ma'am," I grunted with a nod. "What did you hear from Alice?" I asked her.

"She's setting up now. It was why she wanted Rose to activate Igor here at the office. She's going to use him as not only a test, but to access her stuff here," she answered, leaning in to kiss me softly. "She'll watch, Edward. By the time we arrive, she'll have something for you, I'm sure."

"Thanks, love," I whispered, kissing her one more time before she took her seat across from Sammy.

I pulled myself up into the pilot seat, giving my property one last glance. "Okay, guys…hold on."

Bethy glanced up to me. "Call in your flight, Daddy," she commanded over the headset, making Bella laugh. "Alaska, here we come!"

**~oOo~**

**A/N… Okay, next stop…Alaska and Aunt Kate. As you can see, some things don't change. Edward still has his little co-pilot. ;) **

**Keep in mind, I try to post pic teasers to go with chapters, and most of the time, I'm successful. LOL Anyway, you can find those if you follow me on Twitter or FB, and they post with the chapter on my blog. Those links can be found on my profile. **

**Okay, like I said, I'm not going to go crazy with the A/Ns, unless there's a question that needs answering, but you guys just seemed strapped in and ready for the ride, so I'll just see you guys on Sunday for Chapter 3. Until then… Mooches, Deb. ;)**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N… A lot of you are trusting Edward's gut instinct here. The rest of you are just happy to be back into their lives, and I need to thank you guys again. You have your guesses already, so I'll let you get on with it.**

**I'm just reminding you that I play a little with technology…Igor is the prime example of that. Although, I'm fairly certain the ability to make such a thing is out there kicking around somewhere. LOL Not to mention all the other fun toys I put in here. **

**Anyway…carry on. Let's see what Alice found out…and check in with Aunt Kate…**

**~oOo~**

**Chapter 3**

**EDWARD**

"Edward Anthony!" I heard behind me when I slid open the bay door after pulling Bethy down out of the co-pilot seat and setting her on her feet. When I glanced over my shoulder, Aunt Kate added, "Hurry up and come hug on me!"

Chuckling, I said, "Yes, Aunt Kate."

"Are you in trouble?" Sammy asked in a whisper. "You just got here, Daddy."

Chuckling, I asked, "What makes you think I'm in trouble?"

"Mom calls me Samuel Masen when I do sumpthin' wrong," he explained, looking over my shoulder wide-eyed.

Bella laughed softly and kissed his temple. "Relax, Sammy. Aunt Kate has always called your daddy that," she told him. "It keeps him _out_ of trouble." She grinned when I rolled my eyes her way.

"That's it. Everyone out," I teased, swinging a laughing Samuel down to the ground. The dogs went next, and finally Bella.

It made sense he wouldn't remember. We hadn't been to Aunt Kate's in several months…hell, almost a year. He'd been three then.

When I turned around, I smirked at just how many people had come to greet us. But Aunt Kate was my first priority; she made sure of it. Bending a little, I hugged her and kissed her cheek.

"It's about time you brought your behind up here, son," she reprimanded, but smiled as she cupped my face. "Damn, you look more and more like your mother every time I get a glimpse of you. Now, get your things. I've got dinner cooking. Well, I started it, and Alec took over. He says it's your turn tomorrow."

"Anything you want," I conceded without even giving it a thought. "But…" I glanced around at everyone greeting each other with hugs and kisses. "Aunt Kate, what are we all doing here?" I asked her, because she'd simply insisted that we all come.

That question seemed to be on everyone's mind, and they all got quiet for her answer.

She chuckled, leaning up to kiss my cheek one more time. "Because my birthday is coming up, and I'm not getting any younger. Once your father and Esme join us, I'll have my entire family under one roof."

Draping an arm around her shoulders, I said, "Fair enough."

Jasper helped me unload the chopper, lugging everything down to the room that had been built especially for my parents and me at one point. Aunt Kate continued to add on to her place all the time. The crew had gotten bigger throughout the years, due to marriages and children, and she wanted to always be able to provide a safe place for us all. In fact, she'd just recently added a room just for all the kids to share, split in half – one side for the boys and the other for the girls. There were toys, bunk beds, and even a toddler bed for Kaitlyn. It was huge and fun and bright, and it was situated just off the main living space.

The entire complex was filled with the thick aroma of Alec's spaghetti sauce and garlic. Aunt Kate had started it and he'd kicked in whatever he'd needed to make it his.

I dropped Bella's and my bags down onto our bed, glancing over at Jasper as I fell down onto the edge of the mattress. I tugged off my hat, gripped my hair, and pulled it back on.

"Have you heard from him?" he asked, leaning in the doorway.

"Yesterday," I replied with a nod. "I called him on Thursday, and he had a meeting to go to. He called the next morning – well, morning for him. They want him to visit this mine site."

"Is he?"

I shook my head. "I don't know. He's weighing it out."

"Maybe you should try him soon. Like really soon. Alice has been working on what you asked. This Sergei guy comes up clean, and so do most of the people he associates with, but she spread out the search. Edward, we need to look at that mine's employees. And maybe we should sit down with Alec to see if he knows anything…like does your dad have history over there or some shit."

Nodding, I sighed deeply. "After dinner, we'll sit down, go over everything she's got, and try to call him. They're eleven hours ahead of us over there. Now twelve." I muttered the last words, remembering there was an hour between Washington and Alaska. Smirking, I glanced up at him. "How's the new computer room Aunt Kate had built?"

Along with the kids' room, Aunt Kate had added onto the dining room. She considered her house one of our safe houses, so she wanted a place that we could truly work if we needed. Despite the fact that my dad didn't really dabble in the mercenary world anymore, she'd told us all she wasn't taking any chances. And that probably stemmed from her husband, Garrett, who had worked for my dad for years. He had died years ago, but he'd been wickedly clever, almost paranoid, and always covered his ass. He always had a backup plan, a safe place to land.

Jasper laughed, shaking his head. "Oh, Lord. I doubt I'll ever see my wife again. It's everything Alice wanted and then some. It's not as…intense as Gravity, but she's been able to install a com link to Igor from here. He's been a noisy motherfucker ever since."

I laughed and stood up wearily, gripping his shoulder once I got to the door. "Good luck with that."

"Yeah, thanks," he sighed, rolling his eyes. "But…Alice wouldn't be Alice without a piece of technology in her hand."

"Truer words, man…"

Dinner was a loud and boisterous affair. The kids – poor Sammy the only boy for moment – all ate in the living room while watching a movie, but all the adults sat around the table, catching up with Aunt Kate. We joked, told exaggerated stories on one another, and the wine flowed pretty freely. It was when talk turned to my dad and Esme that things became serious again.

"Emmett and Rose will be here tomorrow morning," Bella said, linking our fingers together. "They're bringing Makenna and Kurt with them. She was seeing Wes off at the airport, so they decided to all fly out at the same time."

"What about Carlisle and Esme?" Sarah asked, leaning into Alec when he draped an arm around the back of her chair.

Alice's head shot up from behind the always-present laptop, locking gazes with me. I looked to Jasper, and finally, Bella.

"Anything?" I asked Alice.

"No," she said with a slow shake of her head. "As far as I can tell, they're still at the hotel."

I nodded, but reached up to grip my hair. If they were still at the hotel, then they were safe.

"Pretty boy, spill. You look like you're about to pull your hair out," Mickey stated, setting her elbows on the table. Her honey-colored eyes swept over me, her brow furrowing. She could read me almost as well as Bella could.

I let go of my hair, my hand falling back to the table. "I was really hoping he'd be done with that shit by now." Looking at Bella to my left, I met warm, concerned brown eyes. "He swears to me he knows what he's doing, but something about this trip is fucking me up."

"Okay," Bella said softly, rubbing the top of my thigh underneath the table. She immediately turned to Alec. "Why did Carlisle decline your protection, Alec?"

He shrugged. "He said that the people he was meeting were anxious enough, _Bellisima_. He didn't want them nervous, because this was supposed to be a simple sale. He was afraid to spook them, I think. If I walk in as security, they could get iffy, ya know?"

She nodded, turning her gaze to Alice. "Tell us what you know, pixie."

Alice stood up from the table. "It's better if Igor shows you, but we have to go to the computer room."

We all started to stand, but the kids' laughter met our ears, causing us to second-guess ourselves.

Sarah chuckled, holding up a hand. "I've got them. Just catch me up later, okay?" she asked, but her sharp eyes were on Alec.

"Of course, _anima_," he whispered, kissing her forehead.

Everyone squeezed into the computer room, taking seats at desks and a small table in the center. I closed the door, leaning against it next to Aunt Kate, who was gazing up at me.

"You're worried about him," she surmised, her shrewd eyes raking all over my face.

"That mine…it's in an area filled with desperate people. Moscow is one thing, but that area is another," I explained to her, but everyone was listening. "If he goes there, then…I don't know…" My voice trailed off, and I shrugged a shoulder.

"You're right," Alice piped up, and her tone was serious, sober. Even her eyes were dark. "That area is…sick. Literally." She gestured toward the blank wall. "Igor."

"_Yes, Miss Alice?"_

"Please bring up the pictures of Norilsk Mine," she commanded, and immediately, the blank wall was filled with three large flatscreen-sized holographic computer monitors. She walked to the first one. "This is why Carlisle wanted to sell," she started, pointing to not only the mine, but the surrounding area. It was desolate, looking cold and ruined, like a post-apocalyptic world. "The mine produces most of the world's nickel, which is used to make coins in just about every country. It's an alloy used to make stainless steel and bronze, and this mine is really productive. The problem is the stuff that spews out of it. It's considered _the most_ polluted city in the world. That's over and above any over-populated city like New York or Los Angeles. And it's all in the air – phenols, heavy metals, and sulfur dioxide."

She faced us all again. "This is why your dad wanted out from underneath it. He's spent the better part of his partnership with Charlie, and now with Jacob Black, trying to clean up Twi Tech. Technology and weapons put Charlie on the map, but it's buyouts like this that made Twi Tech one of the top richest companies in the world. Carlisle wants to now use that fortune to make a difference." She spun to the wall again, pointing to the next holographic screen. "Carlisle isn't stupid. He knows this mine makes money, but the practices they use are careless. There are mines and processing plants around the globe that can keep the area surrounding them clean. It's all he's wanted from Norilsk from the get-go."

"So…what? They aren't cleaning up?" Alec asked.

"No, they aren't," Alice answered almost coldly, stepping back and pointing to another picture of a diagram. "It's expensive to clean it up. It's years of filtration, a complete renovation of how it's all processed, and a reconstruction of the surrounding area…the town. It would cost _millions_ in U.S. dollars to fix it." She stepped back to point to another screen, this one with a picture of an older gentleman with graying hair. "Sergei Maslov."

My eyes narrowed on the guy's face. He didn't seem intimidating, but I didn't trust any motherfucker outside my family and crew, especially with my dad's and stepmother's lives on the line.

"Edward, you asked me to dig deeper into his background, and I did," she said, turning to me. "Nothing is different than when I ran that same search for Carlisle."

"Okay," I replied, gripping my hair. "But? What else did you find?"

"Not much, but I'm not finished running a few other searches. As far as Sergei's friends go, they, too, are clean. The Moscow bank, the upper management of the mine, and Sergei's immediate family are all fine. Right now, I'm trying to obtain a complete list of the employees of Norilsk."

"Pixie, my dad mentioned another mine – a mine that Sergei wanted to see. What is that?" I asked, pushing away from the door to brace my hands on the back of Bella's chair. "He said it was like eleven hundred miles from Norilsk."

"Igor, search for mines within a two thousand mile radius of Norilsk," Alice ordered.

"_As you wish…"_

I snorted, but I wasn't the only one. Jasper chuckled low, shaking his head. Mickey glanced over to Bella, and both were highly amused.

"Oh hell, Alice," Mickey sighed. "Igor is only boosting that genius ego of yours, isn't he?"

The pixie merely grinned, but Igor was bringing up a giant map of Russia on the wall. Several red dots appeared all the way from one end to the other, but an orange circle, with Norilsk in the center, highlighted a large portion of the country.

"Igor, shrink that radius down to eleven hundred miles," I ordered, and the circle shrank a little, which only included a few of the red dots on the map. "Now, Igor, what mines are south within that circle?"

"_Krasnoyarsk Mining and Chemical Combine, Mr. Edward."_ An article flew to the forefront of the screen, and Igor started to read it. _"Krasnoyarsk-26, currently Zheleznogorsk, was established in 1950 to produce plutonium for weapons. The facility's original name was the Combine 815. At __present, it__ is known as the Mining and Chemical Combine. Zheleznogorsk is situated in the southern part of Central Siberia on the banks of the Yenissei River…"_

"Thank you, Igor," Alice said when Alec motioned for her to stop him.

He turned to me, but pointed a finger behind him toward the wall. "I _know_ that fucking place, kid. I know it because it sits right next to a nuclear weapons facility."

"Yes, yes, yes," Alice chanted, walking around the table. "In the sixties, the place was a booming weapons manufacturer. Now, it processes power and water. In fact, as of late, most of the weapons-grade uranium is being gathered up and sent to Canada for it to be converted from weapon to medical radiation." Alice sighed, meeting my gaze. "Your dad was aware of what this Mining and Chemical Combine was, Edward."

Nodding, I let out a deep breath. "What's his status now?"

A few clicks of a mouse, and a map of Moscow shot up onto the wall.

"Still at the hotel," Bella stated, looking to me. "Call him."

Pulling out my phone, I swiftly dialed my dad, putting it on speakerphone. I didn't give a shit how early it was for him.

"Edward, I swear," he answered, sounding sleepy.

"Shut the fuck up, Dad," I ordered. "Tell me your progress."

He took a deep breath, and I could hear shifting around over the line. "Why?"

"Because a simple sale shouldn't take this long, Carlisle," Bella answered before I could. "We're only looking out for you. By now, lawyers and financial people should be doing the hard work. Not you."

He sighed again, but chuckled softly at the sound of my wife's voice. "Okay, sweetheart," he conceded, his tone easier, lighter. "I'm currently awaiting clearance to take a tour of Zheleznogorsk – the Mining and Chemical Combine. Considering what they do, security is extremely tight. They don't want someone going in with bad intentions. Plutonium and uranium sold on the black market to the wrong person could be extraordinarily dangerous. There are countries out there that would give anything to get their hands on it."

"Which is what now concerns me, Carlisle," she countered. "They'd do just about anything, including using the CEO of one of the world's biggest companies, to get what they want. You may have checked these guys out, but you don't know who's watching _them. _This Maslov guy keeps switching plans, and I don't like it. Please fly here before doing anything. We'll re-group, gather more intel, maybe even do some recon work, and you can go back with a few of us."

"I'm aware of who could be watching, Bella," he argued, sounding a lot like me. "But I also know that if I can convince Sergei to clean up Norilsk, then thousands of lives, not to mention the environment, would better from it. I've been extremely cautious about where we go and who we talk to, but I can't deny that Twi Tech could make a difference here without selling it, even if I have to remove Sergei from his position. I'm trying not to do that. He has the respect of the employees and the surrounding town. He simply has to learn to use it."

Alec's face turned dark. "Fine, Carlisle. But let's do this a different way. Let me come to you. Send Esme to Alaska. I'll play the dutiful assistant or some fucking shit." When my head shot up, he held up his hand. "I'm aware that you can take care of yourself, but _Bellisma_ has a strong argument. If for some reason someone decides to act on your...your popularity, especially with your sudden interest in these mines, then Esme could become a target. She could be used against you. Take her out of the equation. If you keep going south, you're gonna hit dangerous territory. There are undesirable people in Turkey, in the Middle East. That whole area down there has a volatile underground. Americans with access to money and weapons are a target. Being there without backup is dangerous. I don't give a shit how nervous you make them. Fuck, they _should _be nervous. You know I'm right."

My dad sighed heavily over the line. "Shit, Esme's gonna be pissed," he muttered. "Let me talk to her when she wakes up. I'll call you back."

"When?!" Bella, Alec, and I all yelled at the same time.

"Give me a few hours, and I'll let you know," he stated, and the line went dead.

The computer room was deadly quiet when the call ended. A quick glance around the room told me that they were all looking to me, that the absence of my father made me the one in charge. This wasn't a Gravity situation; it was something else. It had the feel of something bigger, something that I couldn't quite put a name to. I took a deep breath and let it out, clawing at my hair that was now bugging the fucking piss out of me because it was too damn long. Rubbing my face, I looked to Alice.

"I want… Alice, get me all you can on this Z-Zhel…this…fuck, the Mining and Chemical Combine!" I finally spat, shaking my head at the names I couldn't pronounce.

"Let's just shorten that shit to MCC right now," Mickey suggested with a laugh and a slow shake of her head.

"Fine. MCC. I want to know who's running it, who's working there, and what security checks my dad has to go through. Also, you say you're gathering an employee list of Norilsk?"

"Yes," Alice stated with a nod. "That's coming from Twi Tech. They have it on file, but I'm just waiting for Angela to send it to me."

"Got it," I sighed, shaking my head and looking to Alec. "You're serious about going to him?"

"Yeah, kid. Definitely," he affirmed, reaching up to squeeze my shoulder.

"Okay, well, then let's save my dad some trouble. We need two flights – one for Esme from Moscow to Anchorage, and one for you," I stated, looking around the room.

"I got it, Edward," Bella said, standing up from the table and making her way to a computer terminal by Alice.

Jasper and Mickey came to stand by Alec and me. Their faces were grim and controlled.

"We forgot to ask him about past work in Russia," Jasper murmured, not to chastise me, but his tone sounded a bit disappointed.

"How far back?" a voice asked from behind us, and we all spun to look at Aunt Kate. When I shrugged, she smiled and clarified. "What I mean is…Carlisle's crew used to keep a few records of past jobs. Garrett kept files for the first few years. There may be something in them that's helpful."

"Where are they, Aunt Kate?" Mickey asked.

"The attic."

Mickey looked to me. "Couldn't hurt, right?" She shrugged a shoulder. "I'll grab those, lug them in here, and go through them. Maybe we'll come up with something. I'm assuming you want to be armed to the teeth with every possible piece of info, pretty boy."

"Yeah."

She nodded and left the computer room with Aunt Kate. Frowning, I realized I was missing a few important people from my crew. Rose and Emmett, not to mention Kurt and Makenna – they'd all be hard at work narrowing shit down, taking up slack, and preparing for the worst. It had taken a long damn time for my crew and Bella's girls to mesh, but when we finally had, we'd become a flawless, efficient machine.

Jasper was eyeing me. "I'll call Emmett, see if he can't get them all on an earlier flight. Would that make you feel better?"

Nodding, I shot him a grateful look, and he immediately pulled out his phone. He stepped out of the office as soon as Emmett answered.

"I'd better go talk to Sarah," Alec murmured, looking contrite. "I'd told her about Carlisle's trip, that I'd offered to go. I'd better tell her he may change his mind."

I took a seat next to Alice. "Let me help, pixie. That's a lot of names."

She nodded. "Igor, pull up Mining and Chemical Combine…or MCC. Send the info to terminal one."

"_As you wish…"_

Immediately, the large monitor in front of me lit up and several windows of information flew up onto the screen. Clicking through it, I sent the employee list to the printer, scanned through the layout, and started looking at the security situation. It was going to be a long damn night waiting for my dad to call.

**~oOo~**

**BELLA**

"Edward," I called, rolling around Alice, who was pacing in front of two really large holographic screens.

She was reading every damn thing she could get her hands on, and I knew, sadly, that she'd retain it forever. Her eidetic memory was a blessing and a curse to her. She could never forget phone numbers, scientific facts, or how to do something, but she also couldn't forget the inane shit that crossed her path. She could read and understand just about any language, but she couldn't stop herself when she'd blurt out facts that coincided with just about any subject. She'd once complained to me that her mind never stopped, never shut down; it always seemed to be contemplating _something_.

Edward's tired eyes glanced up from the computer in front of him, giving Alice a respectful, yet sympathetic gaze. He looked to me, then at the piece of paper I was handing him.

"Baby, I can't get a flight for Esme until tomorrow – noon their time. Then there's this…" I pointed to Alec's flight. "Your dad will be alone until Alec can take that same flight back. I'm sorry."

He looked pained, but he nodded once. "Nothing? It doesn't have to be nonstop, but…"

I shook my head. "I've tried everything. I mean, _you _could fly him in, but you'd have to stop a few times to fuel up."

He shook his head, his nose wrinkling adorably. "Last resort, sweetness." He held up the papers. "Thanks."

We'd been in the computer room for a few hours, the kids having long been put to bed. Emmett was most likely in the air already. He, Rose, Kurt, and Makenna had been able to push their flight up a few hours. I'd heard Caleb wasn't happy about being woken up to go, but otherwise, Emmett had hauled ass to get here. He'd even told Jasper not to have anyone pick them up, that he'd rent a car. I was pretty sure that the members of our crew would move mountains when needed. I was hoping to see them before sunrise, because we could actually use them all. The research was overwhelming when we weren't exactly sure what we were looking for.

Glancing over at the table in the middle of the room, I watched as Mickey and Obie sorted through the boxes that Aunt Kate had provided. There were files upon files inside, envelopes with satellite images and photographs, not to mention illegal identifications. They were simply sorting through the overseas jobs, stacking them off to the side.

My eyes drifted back to my husband. Throughout the years, we'd learned to trust our gut instincts. He trusted mine to the ends of the earth and back, but I relied upon his. And to see him worried about his dad was wrecking me. I wanted to pluck Carlisle and Esme out of Moscow and set them down in front of him, if only to take away the dark look on Edward's face.

He clawed at his hair, pulling it up off his forehead.

"You're gonna pull it all out. Go have Aunt Kate cut it, Edward. Take a break, or I'm gonna use Bethy's hair thingys to keep it out of your eyes," I threatened him, leaning in to kiss his cheek. "I've got this. And leave your phone in case your dad calls."

His grin was every bit the combination adorable and sexy, not to mention a touch disbelieving as to whether or not I'd meant it.

"Barrettes with flowers on them, handsome. I'm not kidding," I chortled, shoving at him until he got up.

"Bella…" he started to argue, but leaned down to kiss my lips. "Just…let me know if you find something."

"Yes, sir," I answered against his lips and then watched him as he left the room.

"Okay, I think we have all the overseas jobs separated," Obie announced, standing up from the table to stack the boxes off in the corner. He pushed a rather large stack of files toward the center of the table. "That's a lot of shit."

Alice and I laughed softly, but turned to face him. I had to hand it to Obie. He didn't always know how to help us or what to do when it came to Gravity, research, or jobs, but he had become a quiet supporter of us all. He grinned at us, shrugging a shoulder.

"Perfect," Alice praised, picking up the stack. She walked over to the scanner, taking the first file and setting everything into the tray, continuing on until all the files were loaded into the feeder. There were about ten or twelve files, not all of them very thick, but once she was done, she typed rapidly into the computer. "Igor, scan these files, sort them, and classify them."

"_Yes, Miss Alice… The process will take approximately eleven minutes."_

She nodded as if she'd assumed as much, facing the screen she'd been reading before Edward had left the room. "This won't work unless I have the files from Angela," she murmured softly to herself as she studied the screen. "I can't make a comparison without it."

My nose wrinkled, but I had to ask, "Um…can you hack it?"

She grinned, glancing over at me. "I can." She laughed and shrugged a shoulder. "I was trying not to, simply out of respect for Carlisle."

"Uh…do it," I ordered, waving a hand at her. "Just do it. It's easier to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission…or in this case, wait for Angela to get to Twi Tech Tower. Tomorrow is Sunday, so she's off. Just get it done."

"Okay," she sang, plopping down into a chair and pulling a keyboard closer.

"Edward Anthony, will you _be still_?!"

Every head in the room spun to stare at the closed door, grins curling up on our faces at Aunt Kate's exasperated tone.

Mickey snorted, shaking her head one time. "Wow, he's… He's really letting this shit get to him."

Nodding, I hummed in agreement, pulling a stack of papers off the printer that Edward had printed. "Yes, he is. I think he was okay until he talked to his dad a couple of days ago. We're all used to Carlisle running things, so to hear his dad being jerked around set off alarms for Edward."

Obie's head shot up from the table. "You think he's being threatened? Like maybe he can't tell you what's really going on?"

"I don't know. I suppose it's possible," I admitted. "Though, I'm pretty damn sure he has some sort of code, right?"

"Back in the day, he did," Mickey told us, sitting back in her chair. "I think we maybe used it one time. Emmett had a gun to his head as we were trying to take down a small village. They were holding some POWs in a place the military couldn't go. We'd split up, and Emmett was supposed to sabotage the few rundown trucks, just to give us a head start out of there once Edward and I broke the guys out of the cell. Jasper was set up on a hill about eighty yards away. He could see us, but not Emmett. Em simply said, 'Papa Bear's porridge is too fucking hot.'" She chuckled again, wearing a small smile. "Big ass teddy bear that he is couldn't say it any other way. Luckily, the kid with the automatic rifle aimed his way spoke very little English. Carlisle took control of Em's situation, while telling me and Edward to finish the job and Jasper to take the shot if he had it. Jazz moved locations, found Emmett, and took the shot." She shrugged. "That's the only time we've ever used it. Although, the Goldilocks shit worked, and we all agreed we'd use it again. But we never had to."

"I remember that," Jasper said softly as he stepped into the room, closing the door behind him. "You know, Carlisle speaks about three languages, so I would think if he were truly in trouble, he'd try any way possible to let us know."

"_Transfer complete."_ Igor's voice brought us back to the present, as did the holographic screen that was bringing up every piece of information that he'd scanned into the system.

"Good," Alice said, spinning around to face us. "I'm in. The Norilsk employee list is downloading now. Once it's finished, I can have Igor compare not only the old job files, but the MCC lists as well. Maybe a name will coincide."

The door opened again, and in walked Alec and Edward, the latter looking like he'd stepped off a damn runway after his haircut.

Grinning, I couldn't help but tease him. "Oh, _there_ you are! I couldn't be sure who you were underneath all that hair."

"Shut it, sweetness," he grunted back, but his cheeks were pink as he ran a hand over his head. "Better, though?" he asked, looking unsure and shy. He looked so much like Sammy that I couldn't help but kiss his lips briefly.

"Yes, much!" I sang, reaching up to rake my fingers through it. "I've grown attached to your eyes, baby. I don't like it when I can't see them."

Aunt Kate had probably taken too much off, but he looked good. The sides and back were close-cropped – high and tight, as the boys called it – and the top was long enough I could still grip it a little, but short enough it stuck up everywhere.

"Very handsome, pretty boy," Mickey taunted him, wadding up a piece of paper and tossing it at his head.

He laughed and batted it away easily, finally gazing around the room. "Anything new?"

"Yeah, we've uploaded everything. Alice is going to compare the employees of Norilsk, MCC, and old jobs to see if anything is iffy," I told him. "And no…no phone call yet."

"Obie had an interesting thought, Ed," Mickey stated. "Could your dad be in trouble? Like unable to tell us that he's in trouble?"

Edward immediately shook his head. "He'd figure a way to let it out. Even if he was bugged, or someone was there with a gun to his head, he'd use a code to tell me. And his voice is his tell; he wouldn't be so…I don't know…calm?" he said, though the last word came out as a question.

"Yeah, Carlisle's not stupid," Alec stated, taking a seat next to me. "I honestly don't think he went into this thinking he was going to be this long, but I also don't think it's as up and up as he's making it out to be. He's a ruthless businessman, so if he wanted to shut that mine down, he'd have already done it. But he's a military-minded man, too," he continued, holding up a finger. "To him, this is a giant game of chess. He's calculating every move – sell it, don't sell it, crack the whip to clean it up, or fuck it and let it ride. The fact that it makes money is the key. Not to mention nickel makes coins…_money_," he urged, his eyebrows rising up. "That means government contracts out the ass! And I mean _global_ governments."

"Oh," Mickey and I spoke at the same time. I hadn't even considered that side of it.

I turned to Alice. "Oh, we need this comparison ASAP, pixie."

She hit the enter key. "Running now."

Pursing my lips, I shook my head. "Igor, print the list of government contracts from Norilsk."

"_Yes, Miss Bella."_

The printer immediately kicked into work. I got up from the table, snatched several pages off the printer, and flipped through them.

"The U.S., Canada, Great Britain…" I ticked off, shaking my head before sitting back down. "We should call Eleazar," I muttered, mainly to myself, because Esme's brother had connections that were deeper than anything we could root out, simply because the CIA played by a completely different set of rules.

My heart stopped, though, when Edward's cell phone started ringing and vibrating across the desk.

He snatched it up quickly, saying, "It's him." Swiping a thumb across the screen, he grunted, "Dad?"

"Okay, you win," Carlisle sighed in defeat over the speaker. "Esme said to trust you, though she wanted to follow Bella's suggestion of me leaving, too."

"We can do that, Carlisle," I told him, taking a laptop that Alice was handing me. "I can add you to the flight."

"I can't leave, Bella," he argued. "I want this done. My buyer backed out, so I have no choice but to continue on to Norilsk to discuss the changes that need to be made. I also need to see what they've already done."

We all looked at each other, but we turned to Edward.

"Dad, we have a flight for Esme leaving Moscow at noon, but we can't get Alec to you at the same time. You'll be a lone wolf for several hours. I don't like it," he explained.

Carlisle was quiet for a moment, but said, "We don't plan to leave Moscow for Norilsk until Monday. I can stay here and wait."

Alec shook his head, but there wasn't much we could do. "That'll take a day, at least, Carlisle."

"What if I flew him to you? It would take several fuel stops, but—" Edward started, but his dad cut him off.

"Absolutely not!" he practically growled. "That chopper doesn't leave the U.S. unless absolutely necessary, son."

"Then you have no choice but to put Esme on that plane tomorrow, postpone the mine tour until Tuesday, and wait for Alec inside that fucking hotel," Edward countered, sounding just as adamant. "You should've taken him with you to start with."

Carlisle cursed under his breath. "You may be right."

Alice slapped a piece of paper down in front of me, her eyes wide and scared. My heart stopped, because she rarely broke a sweat. Swallowing thickly, I read what she'd handed me.

"Oh my damn," I sighed, shaking my head. "Carlisle, we have a problem. We dug a little deeper into Sergei Maslov, expanding that search to Norilsk employees, MCC employees, and old jobs you've worked on in the past. We also added in any contracts that Norilsk may have. We cross-referenced them all, simply to see if maybe there was someone that might pose a threat to you."

"What did you find?" he asked softly.

"Who's Boris Zukov?"

"He used to be a Russian contact of mine. He helped me on several jobs years ago," he answered. "We met in the Gulf War. In fact, I contacted him when I was planning on coming here. I wanted to see him."

"Yeah, well…now? He's missing. He was the head of security of MCC, but he's been relieved of his duty. Carlisle, they caught him trying to smuggle information out of MCC – blueprints of the underground storage facility, a list of inventory of uranium and plutonium – and he'd falsified his background. He's not very clean," I rattled off.

Carlisle's end of the line went eerily quiet – so quiet that Edward sat forward to glance at the screen of his phone to make sure the call was still connected.

"Dad…talk to us."

"Well, shit," Carlisle grumbled. "Boris is like us. A former soldier for hire. He's a ghost. If he's missing, that's because he doesn't want to be found."

Edward rubbed his face. "Dad, I want you out. If he was gathering information, it's possible he's selling it…to very fucking bad people. He just happens to disappear after you called him? No, I'm not buying this shit. If you want to go back, that's fine, but you'll go with a team. I don't give a flying fuck who gets nervous. But for now, I want you on that motherfucking plane tomorrow. Sweetness, add him to the flight."

Nodding, I did as Edward ordered, because not only was he not giving his dad a way to back out, but his temper was hanging by a thread. And that was only because he wasn't liking how shit was starting to stack up.

Carlisle groaned, but finally said, "Fine. Do it. We'll both be on the plane tomorrow."

We all sagged in fucking relief, Edward especially. A collective breath left us all in a whoosh.

"Constant contact, Dad. From the second you get up, to the cab ride to the airport, to boarding the goddamn plane…just keep us posted. Got me?" Edward added.

Carlisle chuckled. "Ten-four. You'll hear from us in a few hours."

Edward turned to Alice. "Pixie, keep their GPS locations up on a constant basis, please." He smiled when she handed him a tablet with what he'd asked for already loaded up. "Thanks. Everyone get some rest. I want to be alerted as soon as they're on the move. It's afternoon there now, which means we're looking at a little less than twenty-four hours before he takes off. I won't be happy until they're in the damn air."

"No shit," Alec agreed.

We all started to leave the office, but Alice looked conflicted.

"Amazing job, darlin', but let it go for now," Jasper told her.

She hesitated, but looked around at every monitor that seemed to be filled with information. "Igor, send an alert to Edward's tablet should those GPS chips go offline or change locations," she ordered, wearing a little more relaxed expression on her face.

Igor answered her as we left the room. _"Yes, Miss Alice. As you __wish."_

**~oOo~**

**A/N… Carlisle finally caved and agreed to join Esme's flight. Wonder which piece of info did it… ;)**

**FYI…Norilsk does exist, it is extremely polluted, and it is the biggest producer of nickel in the world. However, that's where the reality ends. LOL Also…MCC exists, and it was extremely big during the Cold War for producing and storing plutonium, shares a city with a huge, scary prison, and now uses its power for water and electricity. And THAT is where the reality ends for that mine. Anything outside those facts is my fiction. Make sense?**

**Just in case, you should know I am posting this story on FictionPad as well as my blog. Just search for Drotuno, you'll find me. I also try to post pic teasers on FB and Twitter. All links can be found on my profile.**

**By the way, if you're a Janet Evanovich/Stephanie Plum fan, JenRar is posting a new fic in that fandom. You can find it on her profile, on here, FictionPad, and TWCS.**

**We'll see you again on Wednesday. Until then… Mooches, Deb ;)**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N… I understand that a lot of you are putting your trust in me. In other words, you're setting aside the "I don't read WIPs, but I can't resist" mentality. You need to understand that I don't take that lightly, and the fic won't be abandoned. I'm simply way too OCD to just leave it. LOL ;) **

**Umm…this is the part I'm gonna tell you to buckle in, keep that trust in me that you all seem to have, and hold on. Okay? Keep in mind that I've twisted history/true events a little. This might've been the most difficult thing I've ever written, and not for reasons you're probably jumping to right now. LOL Relax, take a deep breath, and dive in…**

**~oOo~**

**Chapter 4**

**EDWARD**

Propping open the barn doors, I eyed the horse paddock. Over the years, I'd slowly replaced the entire fence when I'd visit Aunt Kate, and it seemed to be holding up. I walked back to the horse stalls, setting Samson and Goliath loose into the paddock. Both were getting up in age, but they were still in good shape. Samson was the color of butterscotch, with an almost-white mane and tail – a purebred Palomino. Goliath, on the other hand, was as black as pitch, a mix of different breeds. Next, I let Mary and Ruth, who were much younger and smaller, out of their stalls. They were auburn-colored quarter horses, with white stripes down their faces.

Once the barn was empty, I set to work on the stall gates. All of them needed replacing. Their hinges and locks were rusty and old, and I was pretty sure Goliath knew that, simply because he was capable of opening his own.

I snorted, shaking my head at that thought, but got to work. Lock and Load found a comfy pile of hay in an empty open stall and watched me with sharp blue eyes. I needed to stay busy, to keep my mind occupied on something other than the waiting game. The twelve-hour difference between Alaska and Moscow was driving me fucking crazy. It was early morning where I was, which meant, my father and Esme were about to go to bed, and I didn't expect to hear from them for at least another eight hours or so. Even worse, it would be midnight before they'd be boarding the plane. That made for a long damn day ahead of me.

I stacked the old doors off to the side, setting up my sawhorses to build the new ones. I'd finished two by the time I heard a voice.

"Hello, boys," Bella crooned to Samson and Goliath as she approached the fence. I watched her through the open barn doors, and her smile was soft, sweet, and calm when she rubbed their noses and patted their flanks. She laughed softly when Goliath nuzzled her hair, sniffing, snorting, and loving on her. They followed her along the fence until she stepped into the barn, and then they went back to their bale of hay.

She leaned in the doorway, her arms folded across her chest. "Emmett and Rose just got here, baby. Alice and Mickey are going over everything with them, Kurt, and Mack now."

Nodding that I'd heard her, I flipped on the saw, cutting the next set of boards for two more stall doors. It was easier to put them all together and then hang them one by one, instead of doing it all one door at a time. I went to reach for the drill, but Bella's hand stopped me.

"Let me help you, Edward."

"I'm okay, love," I argued, but she smirked at me. "What?"

"You're fine now, but how are you gonna hang them without someone to help you?" she asked, holding my drill hostage.

Chuckling, I looked from the open stalls to the new doors. "Huh. I'm sure I would've figured it out."

Smiling, she handed me the drill. "C'mon, I'll help. You finish these, and I'll remove the old locks and hinges from the posts, okay?"

We worked in silence for a little while, Bella almost reading my mind with what I needed each step of the way. In less than an hour, the doors were all up. I sat down on a bale of hay, not really ready to put the horses away, so I watched them wander about the paddock.

Bella sat down between my legs, and I wrapped my arms around her, inhaling deeply the scent of her hair. It was flowers, the same as always, but now included hay and fresh-cut wood. Her mere presence was calming, easy, and I suspected she knew that.

"We need a backup plan for tonight, sweetness," I sighed softly, the first thing I'd said since her offer to help me. "If something goes wrong with my dad and Esme…" My voice trailed off.

She turned sideways, draping her legs across one of mine and leaning her back against the other, which was bent at the knee. "Why are you thinking worst case scenario, Edward?" she asked, placing her hand over mine when I dropped it down to her thigh.

Shaking my head, I shrugged one shoulder. "I don't know. H-Habit, I-I g-guess," I stuttered nervously. "My dad never lets someone lead him around like this, and I don't know why he's doing it now. Normally, he would've told these assholes to kiss his ass, sold it…or told them to fix their shit. But the fact that they're changing the itinerary makes me wonder, ya know?"

She nodded once, tucking her hair behind her ear when a soft breeze blew through the barn. "The Cold War's over, baby…"

"I know, I know!" I chanted, nodding a little. "It's not that, though there are some problems still over there – underground bullshit. But maybe it's because my dad isn't exactly young anymore." I frowned at the truth of that, and it almost hurt to say it. "Maybe he's missing something…not as sharp as he once was."

"You think Carlisle's gone _soft_?" she asked incredulously, a small chuckle escaping her.

"Not soft, no. Just…lackadaisical…m-maybe?" I said, though it came out like a question. "Sweetness, I know he isn't stupid, but still, I worry."

She nodded, cupping my face and kissing my lips. "Your dad is still sharp. He was spot-on when we had to get you in China a few years ago. Not to mention all the stuff that went down with Kyra."

Grimacing, I nodded. That was the last really big case we'd dealt with – Kyra. It had originally been a security case, which had turned into more. I'd met Kyra when I'd been stationed overseas. She was a singer, and our history wasn't so innocent. She was doing extraordinarily well now living in Los Angeles with her new husband, Jordan. However, Bella was right. My dad had been pretty sharp then.

Bella sniffed once, letting her breath out slowly. "Okay, sweetheart. Let's say you're right. Let's say Carlisle's missing something. What do you wanna do about it?"

Shaking my head at her questions, I sighed deeply. "I honestly don't know."

"What aren't you telling me, Edward Anthony?" she asked, her eyes shrewdly narrowing on my face.

Snorting humorlessly, I took a deep breath. "You didn't know Garrett, though he would've adored you, but he was always telling stories, things he and my dad had done. My dad's old crew, his _first_ crew, was deadly. They'd just come out of the Gulf War, and they'd seen shit through the years that would make what we've done look like child's play. There wasn't a country they hadn't been in, a mission they wouldn't at least consider, and none of it was public knowledge. They were paid to be a black-ops team. Period. They went to Russia once before, and Garrett told me that they'd almost died there."

Bella waited patiently for me to go on, her fingers linking with mine.

"Garrett, my dad, and…a-and S-Sam, they'd been asked to take down a guy that the higher-ups thought was responsible for Chernobyl. You remember that incident?" I asked her, knowing my girl was smart as fuck, but I wanted to make sure we were on the same page. With the mention of Sam, her sweet brown eyes filled with sadness, which wasn't helping me any.

"Yeah, yeah," she said with a nod. "I remember. The whole thing was supposedly a test for a power outage, but it went horribly wrong. The nuclear reactor had a meltdown. It killed hundreds – a few at the time of the explosion, but then many more later on due to radiation poisoning."

"Exactly, sweetness," I praised her, kissing her temple. "Well, apparently, it wasn't an accident. Someone had tried to set it off on purpose, and my dad's crew went in to…solve the problem. Some people paid them to remove the scientist, just in case he decided to try again, only somewhere else. It had been several years since Chernobyl, and the guy had gone silent, but I guess whoever wanted him out had bided their time."

"Oh." Bella's voice was soft, but I could see her putting two and two together. "It was a hit."

"Straight up," I concurred with a nod. "Nothing more. Nothing less. They were given the intelligence of where this guy was, they went, and they removed the problem. But the scientist wasn't stupid either. He'd become all paranoid and shit over the years. He must've known they'd come for him, because he had some nasty shit in his lab where they found him. My dad and his crew almost didn't make it out.

"Garrett told me this story when I was just a kid, probably to shut me up or just to placate me, but it fucking stuck with me," I sighed, shaking my head. "Mom was already gone. I'd already met you, but… The thought of losing my dad, too… Well, that fucked with my head. Hard, Bella. I'm not kidding." I frowned, dragging my thumb up the outside seam of her jeans. "I flipped the fuck out, told my dad that he was an asshole if he did stupid shit. He got pissed at Uncle Garrett, but in the end, he swore to me that he'd take different missions from that point on."

"So that's when he started taking only the retrieve missions. No hits," she guessed, tilting that gorgeous head at me.

"There were a few hits, but they were easily solved by a long-range weapon. Sniper."

"Garrett was a sniper, right? Like Jasper?"

"Yes, ma'am," I sighed, swallowing nervously. "I don't know. I just don't like him over there. The second he told me where this meeting was, I felt off. Maybe it's from that story I heard as a kid, or maybe it's gut instinct, b-but I-I d-don't l-like i-it."

Bella's face was unreadable, but she reached up, took my hat off, and ran her fingers through my hair. "Garrett shouldn't have told you that story, baby…not so soon after your mom. What the hell was he thinking?"

I smiled at her protectiveness. We both had lost our mothers at young ages, so we tended to nurture that between us. "Maybe he was thinking a fourteen-year-old that wanted to be like his dad when he grew up would appreciate a good story, sweetness. I'm sure he meant no harm. Like I said, he was a good guy."

"Hmm," she hummed noncommittally. "Did they tell you names?"

I shook my head. "No, and by then, I'm pretty sure they weren't keeping records."

"Right," Bella agreed, but she was quiet for a moment. Her eyes locked onto mine, but she nodded once. "Okay, Edward. Fair enough. We'll talk backup plan, okay? But I prefer to do it with everyone."

I took a deep breath and let it out. "Fine. Let's go pull them all into the computer room."

**~oOo~**

"Daddy, where's Poppy and Gamma?" Bethy asked as I tucked her into bed.

I glanced up when Sammy leaned against the bed, saying, "I miss Gamma's cookies."

Smiling at him and then back to Bethy, I said, "They're coming, guys. Poppy's working, okay?"

Bethy's little hand reached up to rub the spot between my eyebrows that I didn't even know had scrunched up. "Soon?" she whispered. "Poppy promised he'd take us camping in Aunt Kate's woods."

I shook my head, grinning. "Did he now?"

"Yeah," Sammy said softly with a slow, mischievous smile. "He promised campfires and s'mores and scary stories. _And_ he said we'd sleep in sleepin' bags and tents."

"Why wasn't I invited?!" I gasped in shock, unable not to tease them.

They both laughed – the exact reaction I'd wanted.

Bethy sat up, grasping both side of my face. "You hafta come, Daddy. You make the best s'mores!"

That earned her sloppy, loud, raspberry smooches to her neck, which caused her to squeal and give a raspberry right back on my cheek.

"Bedtime, little soldiers!" I ordered, snickering when Sammy shot off to his bed. "Only sweet dreams, little sweetness," I sighed against her forehead once she'd fallen back down to her pillow.

"One more 'mooch," she ordered, puckering her lips, and I was powerless to resist. "Love you," she sang.

"Love you, too."

I walked to the other side of the kids' room to tuck Sammy in, hearing Abby and Caleb fighting bedtime with Sarah and Rose in the hallway, despite the fact that we'd promised them a movie. My son sat wide-eyed in the middle of the bottom bunk bed, watching me.

"Get under the covers, buddy," I told him, and he did, still gazing up at me with eyes that matched his mother's so much, it was uncanny. "What's wrong?"

"Caleb says…there'll be bears when we go campin'," he whispered, like it was a secret.

"There are bears around here, son, but Aunt Kate's fence keeps them out," I explained, ruffling his now-shorter hair. I was pretty sure Aunt Kate cut us to look identical. "But if it makes you feel better, I promise no bears will _get you_," I growled, tickling him until he was red-faced and panting. "Sweet dreams, pal," I snickered against cheek as he sagged, still giggling a little. "Love you."

"Love you, too, Daddy."

I passed Caleb in the hallway. "Hey, Caleb…no bear stories, okay? Try not to scare everyone."

He grinned, and I swear to fucking God, he was his father made over – dimples and scrunched eyes and all. Rose snorted, shaking her head and giving me an apologetic look.

"Sorry, Unca Edward!" he chanted, looking impish, yet smug at the same time.

"Mmhm," I hummed, rolling my eyes at him, but he shot me a high five on my way by.

It had been a long damn day, and I knew it wasn't over. We were expecting a phone call at any time. It had been decided that the kids would go to bed early with the promise that they could watch a movie in their room. We didn't want them close to the computer room should something go wrong. Though, Bethy was damned sharp and could read her mother's and my stress, no matter how hard we tried to hide it, and surprisingly enough, she didn't argue the early bedtime. She was as intuitive as Bella and had simply urged the rest of the kids to go with her. It was probably why she'd asked about her Poppy and Gamma in the first place.

I walked through the main living area to the dining room, only to be handed a plate. "Hot damn! Really?" I gasped, eyeballing the giant-ass piece of apple pie that was still warm and melting the ice cream plopped on top.

Bella laughed. "Edward," she sighed, rolling her eyes. "You'd think I never made apple pie for you."

I shoved a huge bite into my mouth before falling down into a chair at the table. "It never gets old, sweetness," I mumbled through a mouthful, licking my lips and smiling at her.

"Just eat, you silly thing." She kissed my forehead and sat next to me.

There was no better dessert on the planet. Bella's apple pie was outstanding. She'd taught me how to make it years ago, but it always came out better when she did it. It had been her Aunt Jane's recipe, the lady that had taken care of Bella when she was a kid after Renee had died. I'd had one piece the day I'd met my girl the first time. I'd been a nervous, shy, stuttering thing at thirteen, but the pie – and the sweet, outgoing twelve-year-old girl – had made me feel calm, comfortable. Esme, being a therapist, assumed I associated the pie with those feelings instead of simply loving the damn dessert. I'd told her ages ago to stop analyzing my damn head, to which she'd merely laughed and ruffled my hair.

The thought of my stepmother made me smile, but it fell quickly. My dad needed to fucking call soon before I lost my damn mind. I glanced up into the open door of the computer room, where Rose, Makenna, Alice, and Kurt were all sitting in front of screens. Jasper, Alec, and Emmett were at the table in the center, with papers strewn from one end of it to the other.

I finished my dessert, picking up the plate.

"Edward Cullen, if you lick that plate…" Bella warned, raising a sexy as all hell eyebrow up at me.

"I wasn't!" I laughed as the lie came out pitifully.

"You were, too, pretty boy," Mickey countered with a snort. "Some shit never changes, I swear."

Plastering an innocent expression on my face, I handed the plate and fork to Bella. She opened her mouth to say something, but the computer room was suddenly filled with beeps and excited chatter.

"Edward!" Alice called, running to the door. "They haven't called, but they're on the move. Get in here."

Mickey, Bella, Obie, and I all ran into the room. Jasper had installed a rather large flatscreen on the wall, and that was where everyone was looking. The map grid on the screen was split into a few views – an aerial view, the hotel layout, and the floor plan for the top floor where my dad's room was located. Two dots – one red and one green – traveled down the hallway to the elevators.

Spinning to Alice, I ordered, "I want inside their security cameras. Now."

"Igor, on the far back wall, put up the hotel's real-time security feed. All of them," Alice ordered, but turned to me. "I figured you would, so I went ahead and hacked in."

I smiled a little and nodded, but walked to view the holographic screens Igor was popping up onto the wall one by one. The hotel was fucking ridiculously high end, but high end meant better protection. The lobby was situated in the center of the thirteen-story building, with the rooms facing the atrium going all the way to the top floor. The floors and rooms were wrapped around the atrium, where the elevators were clear glass. My dad said he liked that he could see the front door no matter where he was inside the hotel.

If Alice was impressive, Igor was pure fucking genius, because with every step my dad and Esme took inside that hotel, Igor would switch to the closest camera feed, zooming it forward so I could see it better – down the corridor, at the elevator bay, inside the elevator, and finally the main lobby on the first floor. I took a small breath of relief when they stayed inside the lobby, merely stepping into a small shop.

Pacing, I gripped my hair, giving a few glances up at the footage. They were getting a cup of coffee, some breakfast, and Esme was toting around a magazine or two.

"Edward," Bella said softly. "Look at your dad. Watch him."

I stepped closer to the wall, and Igor zoomed in on the small table and chairs where they were sitting. Esme's attention was sharp on my father, but his eyes were _every-fucking-where_.

"His ass is on high fucking alert, dude," Emmett muttered, coming to stand next to me. "Look at him."

"Yeah, he is," I agreed softly, searching the rest of the screens. "What'cha see, Dad?" I murmured to myself. "Call me, you jackass."

As if he heard me, he pulled out his phone, and I swear his eyes met mine in the camera. He tucked his Bluetooth in, sliding one to Esme across the table. My phone blared in my pocket.

I slid my thumb across to answer the call, and he didn't even wait for me to say anything.

"I'm assuming you're patched into the security cameras, yeah? And I'm assuming Alice is listening."

"Yes, sir," I answered, setting the phone onto the table.

"Good. Alice, patch Esme's Bluetooth into my phone," he ordered in a quiet tone.

"On it, on it, on it," she chanted, rolling across the floor in her chair. Her fingers flew over the keys. A few clicks of the mouse later, and I could hear another voice patch in over the line.

"Hey, guys."

"Hey, Esme, you okay?" Bella asked, but my father didn't give her a chance to answer.

"I need you to listen to me, guys," he said, and on camera, his eyes were moving all around him – the window next to him, the doorway of the shop, the back of the store. Everywhere. "I've got three tails."

"Talk to us," I grunted, studying each camera. "Where? Describe them."

"Front desk, to the left. Dark hair, overcoat, beard. Got him?" he muttered.

"Here!" Jasper called out, pointing to the screen. "Igor, send that footage to Mack's computer."

"Next," my dad went on. "We've got two men – one overweight, the other not bothering to hide his weapon very well. Baseball caps and black leather coats."

"This one," Bella yelled. "Igor, send camera feed seven to Mack's computer."

"Last one…outside. Loitering by the curb like he's waiting for a cab. He's got a newspaper open, and he's smoking a cigarette."

"He isn't alone," Mickey stated, pointing to the outside security footage. "There's a black van parked at the corner. Igor, send that to Mack's computer, too."

Mack was working furiously to freeze, record, map, and process each of those faces. She had two monitors flooding with facial recognition software. Hundreds of identities were blurring by as they tried to match who was following my dad. She was working quickly and silently.

"Carlisle, we're going to get you out of there and to the airport. Security there won't allow someone to get to you, so you need to listen to what we can see," Bella told him firmly.

He was already nodding in agreement. "No matter what happens, I need you to get Esme on that fucking plane. Am I understood?!"

I bit down hard on my bottom lip at that order, because it was not to be ignored, but it also meant he'd sacrifice himself for his wife, something I completely fucking understood – though, I didn't have to like it. Esme's mouth opened to say something, but my dad shot her a sharp gaze, shaking his head.

"Dammit," I sighed.

"Promise me, Edward," he urged over the line.

Everyone in the room turned to me, and my hands balled up into fists. I was shaking my head slowly, trying to see everything all at one time.

"I fucking _swear_, Dad," I said through gritted teeth. "But we're going to get you out of there. And unfortunately, it's not through the front fucking door."

"Guys," Kurt called, rolling over and standing up. "We've got another set of men at the side entrance. They're not so subtle about their weapons." He spun to Bella. "We should call the Moscow police."

"Go! Do it," Bella ordered, and Kurt dove for his computer, pulling a headset on.

I blinked twice when flawless Russian flew from his lips. "The fuck?"

"His grandmother is from Russia," Alice stated softly.

"Jasper," I growled low, looking to my right. "Find me another exit out of this goddamn hotel. Make sure it's clear and empty."

"Got it." He sat down at the computer, scrolling through the blueprints.

I turned to the camera where my father and stepmother were still sitting casually in the shop. "Can you leave your shit behind?" I asked him, thinking they could replace clothes and toiletries.

"No," my dad answered. "My laptop is upstairs. I can't leave it."

"Are you armed right now?" I asked him, trying to see the best way to get them upstairs to the room and then out.

"Yes."

"Good. You're gonna get up, leave the fucking table, and walk back to the elevators. You're gonna do it like you don't see a motherfucking thing. Got me?" I told him, snapping my fingers at the room full of people. When all eyes were on me, I said, "I need eyes on cameras now! If you see something, you speak up!"

Alice came to stand beside me. "Igor, split the feeds into three sections – one for me, one for Edward, and one for Bella."

"_As you wish…"_

Igor did as instructed, and Alice, Bella, and I now had different sets of video feeds. They swirled and rotated in front of us anytime that someone would move. The cameras seemed to be high-tech, with movement activation software. It sure as hell made shit even easier, because Igor had my father's face locked in. Those were the feeds I was watching.

"On you, Dad. Go," I told him.

My focus was the couple getting up from the table, but the voices in the room were making it so I was unable to hear. Pulling out my own earpiece, I popped it into my ear.

"You focus on my voice and do what I tell you, clear?" I asked.

"Yes, Edward," Esme stated back.

"Good."

I stepped back, looking to Bella, who pointed to the lobby's far right corner. "You've got two assholes to your right. And two assholes to your left. They're awfully fucking interested in where you're going. Ignore them. They make a move now, they'll cause a scene. Take the elevator to your floor," I instructed.

Once the two of them were inside the car, I turned to Jasper when he stepped up beside me.

"Service stairs back down. He'll find it at the end of his floor. If he takes that, he can't be seen from the lobby, and it'll bring him out down by the laundry. The laundry room has its own exit through a service bay," he reported quickly.

"Ten-four," I muttered back, glancing back up.

"Their floor is clear so far," Alice told me, and I nodded, seeing she was right.

"You're clear to the room, Dad," I told him, "but don't fucking take your time. Grab the least amount of shit you can take and go! And make sure you have your passports."

There were no cameras inside their room, but their GPS chips showed plenty of movement. In less than sixty seconds, his voice was gruff in my ear.

"Ready," he stated, and I saw the green and red dots move toward the door.

"Hold up. On me when I tell you," I commanded, looking first to Alice and then to Bella.

"He's got two coming up the south elevators," she said, pointing to the lobby goons.

"Perfect," Jasper said, rolling over. "The service stairs are opposite that."

"Do we have cameras there?" I asked, spinning to each of them. When I received nods in the affirmative, I said, "Dad, now. Take a left out your door, head to the end of the hallway, and take the employee door."

I could hear Rose behind me. "Faster, Mack. We need to know who these assholes are!"

"If they aren't in the international database, we're shit outta luck," Makenna muttered back.

"Edward," Kurt called over my shoulder. "The Moscow police are on their way."

"They're gonna be too late," I told him, shaking my head and gripping my hair. "I'll have them out before then. But call a fucking cab. I want it sitting downstairs at the bay doors."

He nodded, rolling back to his desk. The holographic video feeds shifted in front of me, giving me every angle and almost every floor of the stairway.

"Bella, watch those other floors for any movement. Alice, I need eyeballs on the laundry exit," I ordered.

"Edward, fourth floor stairwell." Bella's voice was sharp, but her finger pointed to three men entering the employee door.

"Dad, Esme…_freeze_!" I ordered. They came to a stop on the steps between the sixth and fifth floors. "You've got company, and I wouldn't shoot, if I were you. Gunshots will alert the three assholes on the floor above you. However, you can go down to the fifth floor out to the elevators…"

"Fuck that," my dad interrupted, pointing to Esme and putting a finger to his lips. He crouched down, making Esme do the same, but I heard him mutter to her to stay put as he pulled out his Glock.

"Aw, hell," Emmett said softly. "Stay low, stay low…"

All eyes were watching my feed. And I was pretty fucking certain that we were all holding our breaths.

"If you're gonna take 'em by surprise, then you have about…twenty seconds," I told him, watching as the three men in leather jackets ascended the stairs. "In four, three, two…now!"

At least he didn't come out fucking shooting, but he did get the jump on them. Using the butt of his gun, he pistol-whipped the first guy, knocking him into the second and third man. Both stumbled down a few steps, but before they could recover, my dad was on them. Several punches to each, and kicks to their heads, and three men were left unconscious in the stairwell.

"Go, go, go!" I ordered, making sure Dad grabbed Esme's hand before turning to Bella.

"Pfft…my godfather is _not_ fucking _soft_, Edward," she said with a smirk.

"Yeah, well, he ain't on the plane yet, Bellsy," Emmett countered. "We've still got a couple of floors and a bay to get out of."

"They're tracking him," Alice suddenly stated. "How!? How in the blue fuck are they tracking him?" she practically yelled, running from one end of the video feeds to the other. "No one would know where my chip is! No one…"

"Shit! The bay isn't clear…repeat, the bay isn't clear!" Jasper stated at the end of the wall.

On the video footage, I could see the back exit. Clearly, in the background, a taxi waited, but it was the three guys stepping in off the back alley that my eyes locked onto.

"You're gonna have company on the way out. If you shoot, you'll cause a whole lotta chaos, Dad," I warned him, "but you may not have a choice."

"We have weapons!" Emmett warned, having now joined Bella in front of her screens.

"It's me they want," my dad stated over the line. But on the screen, Esme was shaking her head no.

"No, Carlisle…just…" she started to argue, but I could see that there were two more men coming in through the lobby's employee entrance. They would be surrounded soon.

"You gotta make a move, Dad," I sang in a warning. "Go out shooting, or back up the stairs and we'll find you another way, but you gotta move!"

At this point, I didn't give a fuck if he was arrested. At least then, they'd be safe, but the police were, so far, still absent.

His eyes looked up at the camera. "You promised me, Edward. Now…where are my targets?" he asked, handing the one bag he was carrying to Esme and pulling his Glock back out. To Esme, he stated, "You're gonna run straight. Stay low, keep running."

My nostrils flared with my temper, but I answered him. "From the door…ten o'clock and two o'clock. Aim at a downward angle; they're below you in the bay. Esme, you've got no choice but to run straight out and to the left behind the box truck. On my mark…" I waited until the three men were in the perfect spot. "In three, two, one…go, go, go!"

The stairwell door flew open, and my father shot twice, causing two men to fall to the floor. The laundry workers scattered, giving Esme enough coverage to get behind the box truck. However, despite my father's flawless aim and lightning reflexes, the third man in the bay rounded his weapon on him.

"What is that?" Bella asked, but before we could see, Esme's cry rang out.

"Stun gun," Mickey said, rushing to my side. "They're taking him."

"Fuck me," I growled, gripping my hair, because the two men coming in from the lobby were already on the task of grabbing up my father.

"Get her out! Get her out!" Bella said, smacking my shoulder.

"Esme, listen to me! You have to run," I told her.

"And not that cab!" Kurt yelled, pointing to the one at the bay. "That's not the company I called! Tell her to look for an orange and black cab. Not fucking yellow!"

"Southeast corner facing the river," Alice called out. "It's waiting for her."

Over my father's Bluetooth, I could hear gruff voices speaking Russian, but my focus was now on Esme.

"Run, Esme. Take a left out of the bay doors. Look for an orange and black taxi," I ordered her, trying to ignore her cries, even as everything in me was cracking in two when three men grabbed up my dad.

"Edward, please!"

Swallowing thickly, I shook my head. "I know. But you've got to do as I tell you. He's gone. They've already loaded him up in the black van. But you have two on you now. You've got to go!" I used the outside security feed to follow her, not to mention her green GPS dot. "Do you fucking see it?!"

"No," she breathed, rounding the corner. "Oh, wait! Yes."

"Good. Get in," I told her, snapping my fingers and pointing to the screen where the van was still waiting. "Follow that as far as you can. I want everything you can fucking get!"

To watch the two GPS dots start to separate was almost too much for everyone in the room, but they weren't listening to Esme's tears. Gripping my hair and putting the phone back on speaker, I watched the security feed as she slammed the back car door, telling the driver to go to the airport and to make sure they weren't followed. But it was Kurt's voice that caused us all to stop.

"They're…instructions…take off his shoes, belt…and…watch?" he translated, looking to me. "We lose the watch, and we lose his GPS chip. And Esme has _his_ phone. We can't track him."

"No, no, no!" Esme sobbed, breaking my heart even further.

"Fuck!" I growled, unable to stop my temper. Pulling back, I punched a hole through the plaster wall. "God_dammit_!" I yelled, spinning to point to Emmett. "I want everything on that van! Every-fucking-thing." Turning to Mack, I said, "I want to know the second you identify those men. Any of them."

Esme's Bluetooth clearly caught the sound of the police sirens, so I turned to Kurt. "Get on the phone with the police. Give them the van's description. See if they can keep up."

He nodded, but tapped his headset, indicating he was already on it. Esme, however, sounded inconsolable, so I turned my Bluetooth back on.

"Esme, listen to me. We _will_ find him, I swear to fucking God, but you have to keep going. You hear me?" I asked her softly, stepping toward the back of the room.

She was quiet for a moment, and I feared the call dropped, because I definitely heard the snap and crack when my father's earpiece was removed, the sound of Russian being cut off mid-sentence. Glancing up, hope swelled a little when the red dot indicating my dad continued to traverse through the streets of Moscow in the opposite direction of Esme's green dot.

"Esme, please answer me," I begged softly.

"Don't wait for me," she suddenly stated, sounding much more in control. "Edward, don't you dare wait. That's a twenty-one hour flight. You get here. You find him."

Grimacing, I took a deep breath. "Okay, but you stay on this phone until the last possible second. Will the battery last?"

I could hear her fumble a little, but she sighed, "Yes, it should."

"Good." I sat down hard in the closest chair, dropping my elbows to my knees and fisting both hands in my hair. "Tell me what you know, Esme."

She cleared her throat, sniffling a little. "He wasn't worried until you said Boris Zukov was off the grid. Edward, I think…maybe if you can find him?"

"Okay, okay," I soothed her. "What else? Talk to me."

"He didn't trust Sergei, not one bit. He said the guy could do the job at Norilsk, but…he said you were right, that the man kept changing plans. He said Sergei was fishy," she explained, though I could tell she was calming down.

Esme Cullen _never_ panicked. Ever. She was always calm, always in control, and always cool under pressure. It was from years of dealing with military personnel, from her brother being a Navy Seal and then a CIA agent, and then later, married to my dad. I knew she was in a touch of shock at the moment, but I also knew that once that shock wore off, she was going to be hellfire and brimstone incarnate. She was going to want answers and for someone to pay, and it would me and the crew she was going to want to exact revenge. And I wasn't sure I blamed her one fucking bit. In fact, I was already planning in my head.

"Call my brother," she ordered, again, sounding a little bit more in control. "Eleazar will help you. He'll have connections and contacts here in Moscow that will get you anything you need."

"Yes, ma'am," I said, waving Bella over. Covering the speaker on my Bluetooth, I whispered, "Sweetness, get Eleazar on the phone. Tell him exactly what happened. Tell him I need him. Yesterday!"

"Okay," she said with a fervent nod. "I went ahead and had Emmett and Mickey prep the chopper, Edward. You just need to tell us what, when, and where."

Nodding, I kissed her knuckles before she walked away to call El. "Esme?"

"I'm at the airport, son," she said with a sigh. "I won't be able to stay on the phone through security checks. I'll text you from your father's phone when I'm seated."

A glance at the clock on the wall told me she was right on time. She wouldn't have bags to check, simply a carry-on. Her background was squeaky clean, so they wouldn't detain her long in customs or for the security search.

"Actually, I want you to call me back once you're checked in and at the gate, okay?" I asked of her.

"Okay, I'll call you right back."

The call ended, and I gazed slowly around the room. "Everyone, on me." When all work came to a halt and all eyes were on me, I said, "This isn't fucking over. I need a crew. And I need you all sharp."

"Kid, we're all in," Alec stated, his face as fierce as I'd ever seen it. "Carlisle wouldn't leave us, and we won't leave him. You just tell us what you need."

I sniffed, took a deep breath, and said, "Alice, I need a flight plan. It needs to be detailed, plotted with every fuel stop along the way. Jasper, Alec, I need the cargo hold of the chopper loaded up with everything we've got and supplies for a black-ops mission. Rose…remote access to you guys – laptops, satellite phones, tablets. I need access to info immediately and twenty-four-seven once we're in the air."

"Who are you taking?" she asked.

"I don't know yet. I want to know what Eleazar thinks, but I'm pretty fucking sure that we'll have to head all the way to Moscow and start from fucking scratch," I said, locking gazes with my wife. "I can't ask you to stay. I can see by your face you won't fucking listen."

She smirked, but it fell quickly. "You're gonna need me, Jasper, Mickey, Alec, and Emmett."

"Not to mention Kurt. Apparently, he's fluent," I said, eyeing the man in question.

"You never asked," he snorted, shrugging a shoulder. "But yeah. My grandmother was Russian; she taught me."

Nodding that I'd heard him, I looked back to Bella. "This is a hostage thing for you, isn't it?"

"Yes," she whispered, looking worried that I'd deny her, but in all reality, I'd need her.

However, leaving our kids behind was my biggest concern. But I also knew my wife, and having this situation so blatantly thrown in her face would bring back a shit-ton of bad memories, and with it, possible panic attacks. She loved my father as her own, and she wouldn't just stay behind. She'd be useless at Aunt Kate's, but with me, she'd be a sharp as hell force to contend with.

"There will be rules, sweetness." I raised an eyebrow at her, knowing she'd understand. She'd have to listen to every damn word I had to say if she came along, but her ability to read info, her attention to detail, and her perfect fucking aim would be needed on this trip.

She nodded, but didn't argue. "I've left El a message."

"'Kay," I sighed, gripping my hair again.

The room split in every fucking way imaginable. Aunt Kate watched worriedly from the doorway, but said nothing. It seemed forever before my phone finally rang again.

"Esme?" I asked after swiping my finger across the phone's screen.

"Edward, I'm at the gate. The flight's on time," she stated.

"Ten-four," I acknowledged, my heart settling a little. "Anyone following you?"

"No."

"Anyone watching you?"

"No, sweetie."

"Good. If you feel uncomfortable before that fucking plane takes off, you go to the closest security guard. I don't care who these fuckers are, but you'll at least draw enough attention to make them nervous. Got me?"

"Yes." She sighed deeply, emotion filling her voice with her next words. "I don't want to lose him, Edward. You kept your promise to him; now make me one. Promise me you'll do your damnedest to find him."

I rubbed my face, feeling a thousand years old at the moment. The adrenaline from walking them through this shit was wearing off, and I felt like I'd been dropped out of a plane.

"You know I will," I whispered.

"Promise me, Edward," she begged, "before I board. They're calling my flight now."

Nodding and giving my already hard at work crew a glance, I sighed deeply. "I swear to you, _Mom._"

I squeezed my eyes closed at the small sob that ripped over the line.

"Thank you, son," she whispered, and the call ended.

**~oOo~**

**A/N… I wrote that whole phone conversation in one sitting…and then slept for 3 hours. LOL I've never been so wrecked after writing something. Ever. **

**And most of you were prepared for someone not making it on the plane. Now you know. Like I said, this is the time to buckle in.**

**FYI…Chernobyl…that actually was an accident. They tried to run an electrical outage test scenario, and it ended up overheating the nuclear reactors. My version wasn't so innocent. Just keep that in mind. **

**Okay, I'll see you guys Sunday. Until then… Mooches, Deb ;)**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N… I want to thank all of you for the response last chapter! :D You guys rock! **

**Now I know you're all ready to catch the next flight to Moscow, but you'll have to slow your roll. The crew has some things they need to plan. I'll let you get to it. **

**FYI… I tried something different in this chapter, but I think you guys will rest easier with the way I did it. Go on… See me at the bottom… **

**~oOo~**

**Chapter 5**

**BELLA**

"Daddy's mad," Sammy whispered to me, his little brow wrinkling as he watched his father prep the chopper across the barnyard.

"No, baby. He's just upset," I promised him, scratching Load's ear. He was standing vigilant by my son, his sharp blue eyes always watching.

"Wha' happen'?" he asked, crawling up into my lap, still wearing his flannel camo pajamas.

I sighed deeply. It was too damn early, and Edward and I had gotten very little sleep, but I'd insisted, considering he was going to be flying. I also didn't know how to tell the kids that not only were we leaving them, but Gamma would be arriving at Aunt Kate's without their Poppy and that it was him that we were leaving to go find. At least, I hoped that we'd be able to find him.

Hugging my son closer, I nuzzled his soft, chubby cheek. Everyone was a little on-edge at the farm, because we'd lost Carlisle's GPS signal. Once we'd verified that Esme was in the air and on her way to Anchorage, we'd monitored Carlisle's signal for another half hour. It completely stopped outside of Moscow. From the coordinates, it was a small private airfield. We were also still waiting for Eleazar to call us back. Nothing, so far, had gone right.

Samuel waited patiently for my answer, toying with a lock of my hair.

"Poppy's missing," Bethy piped up from behind us, her green eyes as fierce as her father's, and as usual, Lock was by her side. "Isn't he?"

Sammy gasped and sat up, looking between me and his sister. His face was pure innocence and shock.

"Elizabeth Renee, come sit." I pointed to the spot beside me on the front porch steps, glaring her way, but just like me, she barely flinched. Edward and I had created a strong little girl. "God, you're too smart for your own good sometimes. Did you know that?"

She grinned crookedly, and I could only shake my head at her.

"It's not funny, Bethy," I sighed wearily.

"What's not funny?" a smooth, velvet voice interrupted.

"Is Poppy really missing?" Bethy asked her dad incredulously.

"You," I said, pointing to her, "stop talking and listen to me."

I sighed, meeting Edward's gaze. He'd been grumpy all morning, so I wasn't sure how he'd take his kids knowing the truth, but the ice melted in his demeanor and his shoulders slumped a little.

Turning back to Bethy, I said, "What's not funny is you just blurting stuff out there, Miss Ma'am."

Edward seemed to come to some sort of decision, inhaling sharply, and then dropped to his knees in front of all three of us. "Fine, little sweetness," he stated, nodding once, but he glanced between the two of them. "You're right. Your Poppy is missing. Something went wrong on his business trip. Gamma will be here soon, but your mom and I have to go help him."

Bethy, who'd been gung-ho about knowing the truth, read her dad's mood, and now their faces were identical expressions of worry. "Why?"

"He needs us," I answered softly, wrapping an arm around her.

"How long?" Sammy asked, but his eyes were on his father.

Edward's eyes darkened, but he told his son, "I hope not long, buddy. But I want you guys to do Mom and me a favor, okay?"

"What?" they both asked.

"I need you to be good for Aunt Rose and Aunt Kate…_and_ Gamma when she gets here," he told them. "You're both to do what they say. But keep good thoughts while we're gone. We'll call you as often as we can. Understand?"

They both nodded, but Bethy asked, "When are you leaving?"

"Pretty soon, baby," he told her, locking gazes with me, only to turn back to his kids. "What do we say when we're gonna be apart?"

"Be safe!" the two of them sang at him, which made him smile, the sweetest thing he'd done all morning.

"And?" I chuckled.

"Love you!" they both sang again.

"Good. Now, give Mom and me 'mooches," Edward commanded with a soft laugh, practically having to catch Bethy when she flew at him.

Sammy curled to me, and I smooched his cheek until he giggled. He then went to his dad, who wrapped him up tight in a hug. With one arm around each of his kids, Edward looked to me.

"Love you," I sighed, leaning in to kiss him. I wrapped my arms around all of them in a big family hug. Pulling back a little, I cupped Bethy's and Sammy's faces. "Okay, I'm sure Aunt Kate has breakfast. Go eat. We'll see you two before we take off." When they didn't move, I repeated, "Go."

They ran back inside the house, leaving us alone, but Edward abruptly stood up, offering me his hand.

"Come, sweetness," he sighed wearily. "I need to give you something before we take off."

We silently walked hand in hand all the way to the barn.

He stopped me, pulling me to him roughly. "I'm sorry, love. I've been a shit this morning. I don't mean—"

Grabbing his face, I kissed his lips. "Stop. Don't even apologize. You're worried, and justifiably so. I've got your back, Edward Cullen."

His smile was shy and sweet, almost embarrassed. "I-I kn-know, B-Bella. I-I j-just… I need you to promise me something," he said, going from my stuttering sweet man, to my in-control flyboy.

"Okay," I said with a light laugh, thinking I'd promise him the world. I trusted him with my life.

He took a deep breath and let me go, spinning to Aunt Kate's storage room. He unlocked it, propping the doors open. The supplies and weapons had already been taken out and loaded onto the chopper, so what we were there for, I had no idea. He stepped in, making his way to a smaller safe in the far corner. Once it was opened, he snatched out a manila envelope, handing it to me.

"What's this?" I asked, opening it.

"Plan B, Bella," he stated firmly.

I dumped the contents out on the counter of the storage room, my eyes glistening with tears at what was spread out before me. There were two sets of false identities – one for me and one for Edward.

He poked at them, but made me meet his gaze. "This… Baby, this is to get back here. Understand? We're both going on this mission, and I'm not stupid enough to think that nothing could go wrong, but if something _does_ happen, then my priorities are you and the kids. That's it. If something happens to me, then the crew is already instructed to send you home…here." He pointed to the ground. "The fake ID will get you here undetected, no matter who is looking for us. I-I…I-It w-works th-the o-other w-way a-around, t-too, s-sweetness."

"So the crew will send you home…to our kids…if something happens to me?" I surmised, but it came out like a question.

He nodded, yanking off his baseball cap and running a hand over his head before pulling the hat back on.

"I-I d-don't l-like th-thinking th-that w-way, but dammit, baby, I don't have fucking choice!" His voice got a little louder, and he flinched a little. "I can't have my kids without at least one of us. So…this," he said, pointing to the envelope. "This is nonnegotiable. Am I clear?"

"Who's to make sure you come home?" I asked him.

"Alec."

Nodding, I stood up on my toes and kissed his lips briefly. "Okay, Edward. Plan B."

I tucked the passports and credit cards back into their envelope and stuck it in my back pocket. Looking up at Edward, I was pretty sure I'd fallen in love with him all over again. His kids, his family…me, we'd always come first. To go into this mission knowing the dark possibilities had to have been killing him. But I couldn't stay behind, either. Something inside of me had cracked as I'd watched my father-in-law, my godfather, the man I'd come to love like my own dad, get shocked, zip-tied, and a bag put over his head, only to be tossed into the back of a van like a piece of fucking garbage, all while he was thousands of miles away. While I knew Carlisle was probably stronger than all of us combined, I just couldn't _not_ help, and my husband had seen it written all over my face.

Edward kissed my forehead, not saying anything for a moment, but finally whispered, "I'm not waiting for Eleazar much longer. If he's out of contact or undercover, he can't be of any help anyway."

My nose wrinkled at that, but it was the truth. "Fair enough. Let's get the rest of our stuff, Edward. And I want you to eat before we go over last-minute shit in the office. Okay?"

"Yes, ma'am," he agreed, taking my hand and linking our fingers together.

Edward barely chewed his food, much less tasted it, but he was so damned focused that he'd stopped talking. I hadn't seen him this angry, this vengeful, since Bethy's kidnapping. Back then, he'd been downright scary. He was pushing close to that now. However, we let him stay quiet as we went over everything in the computer room. We knew him, respected him – and Carlisle – so we understood his anger.

"Okay, okay, okay," Alice chanted, setting a black duffle down onto the table. "Pay attention," she commanded, taking out equipment. "I've taken the liberty of uploading Igor onto everything you'll have. This will insure that you'll have info at your fingertips at all times, and considering the time difference, I don't want you to have any issues. There are three tablets in here, two of Aunt Kate's satellite phones, and plenty of radio earpieces. I've also put in a few remote cameras, a few extra GPS trackers – though, we need to talk about those in a second – and a couple of little toys, in case you need them." She glanced over to Mickey after having said that. Leaning her hands flat on the table, she gazed back at Edward. "I'm giving you everything I have, Edward. You could essentially take the fucking country over with what I'm handing you, and that's not including the scary shit my husband loaded up into that helicopter."

His lips twitched at that, but he nodded. "Thanks, Alice."

I shot her a wink, but reminded her, "GPS…talk to me."

She nodded, pointing to the screen behind her. "As you know, I chipped Carlisle and Esme."

A glimpse at the monitor showed Esme's green dot traveling. She was still in the air. The view of Carlisle's was frozen at the point at which we'd lost him.

"There were a bunch of places I could've chipped Carlisle. The watch was simply one of them – though, he hated that I fiddled with his precious Rolex," she snorted, rolling her eyes. "Unfortunately, it was the Rolex that we lost. I originally wanted the watch as a backup. I _wanted_ to embed one under his skin." She held up a tiny thing between her thumb and forefinger. It looked like a small capsule or pill, but so much smaller. "I want to implant it into each of you."

Edward's head shot up from the flight plan he'd been flipping through, his gaze sharp and scary. "Say that again…"

She nodded, but didn't let him intimidate her. "I can take it out as soon as you're back, but this will help me track all of you. This one is untraceable, but the one in Carlisle's watch had to have been found. When they were with Carlisle and Esme every step of the way through the hotel, I knew someone had to be tracking him at the same time I was, so they had to have scanned him at some point. At one of the meetings, a visit from this Sergei guy…something, which means they removed it as soon as they could."

That statement landed in the room like a brick.

"Um, pixie?" I asked, glancing over at Edward before going back to our resident genius. "You want to _inject us_ with that thing?"

"It's perfectly safe, and it'll hurt just about as much as if you had a vial of blood drawn," she stated.

"Yeah, okay, but…where?" I asked her, thinking she'd officially flipped, especially when she slapped down a handful of syringes – one for every one of us who were leaving.

"Preferably fatty tissue," she replied.

"You wanna shoot that in my ass," Alec surmised, wearing a slight hint of amusement.

"Yes. Or arm…or thigh," she countered, shrugging a shoulder.

Edward sighed deeply, standing up. "Fine, do it. Just…get it over with."

The rest of the crew who were going on the mission glanced at one another, but didn't say anything. They merely stared at him.

Rubbing his face, he waved us all on. "Look, we don't have time to argue, and she said she'd take them out when it's over, so…just do it. I'd rather her track us this way than the possibility of something going wrong, like with my dad's. Okay?" he urged.

That seemed to make sense, so when she waved everyone over, all the boys quickly stripped their shirts off, flinching and hissing when she stuck them.

Mickey pulled her waistband down just enough for it to go into her upper butt cheek. With a grin and a wink, she said, "Now you really are watching my ass."

Alice laughed, her head falling back. She patted Mickey's shoulder. "I always have!"

When it came for my turn, I took Alice to the bathroom down the hall.

"I'm not a big fan of pain, pixie, so you're gonna use scar tissue to do this," I told her, lowering my pants. I ran a thumb across the long, thick scar down my thigh. "There's no feeling here, so just…do it fast, okay?"

At the mention and the sight of my scar, her face turned sad, but she nodded. She stayed quiet as she pinched the scar, jabbed the needle in just under the skin, and pressed the plunger. Handing me a cotton ball, she gestured for me to hold it there for a moment. It didn't hurt, but I could feel the tiny thing just under my fingers. Alice merely kissed my cheek before leaving me alone on the bathroom vanity.

The door cracked a little after a minute, and I smiled at Edward's worried gaze when he saw me.

"I'm okay," I said with a slight laugh. "I just…" I pointed to his shoulder. "I was too chicken-shit for anywhere else."

His smile was sweet, but he shut us in the bathroom. Walking to me, he gently took the cotton ball away, leaning down to brush his lips across my scar. "I'm sorry, love," he sighed against my skin. "We'll take it out when we get back."

Placing my hands flat on either side of his handsome face, I lifted him up to meet my gaze. "S'okay," I whispered, shrugging a shoulder. "Maybe I'll leave it. You know…future bullshit."

"You're not a tagged dog, Bella," he argued, "but I just didn't want any problems going into this."

I giggled at him, kissing his lips. "Well, you'd know where I was all the time, Edward."

Grinning, he shook his head. "I don't need to, sweetness. I trust you and love you, but this…this shit's important. If these help, then I'm all for it."

"I know, sweetheart. That's why no one is arguing with you on any of it," I said, trying to keep my voice soothing. Reaching up, I took his hat off, setting it down on the vanity beside me. I ran my fingers slowly through his hair, if only to calm him down. "Edward, baby, look at me."

Deep, dark green eyes gazed up at me through long eyelashes as his thumb continued to soothe my old scar, like he could swipe away the history of how I'd received it.

"Do you remember when Bethy was taken?" I asked rhetorically. "We both kinda lost our minds a little?" He nodded, looking contrite, but I went on. "Okay, well, we can't do that here. The person that usually leads this type of thing is the very person we have to find. We have to stay calm, focused. We have to work together. I know you're angry. But Edward, I'm scared for him."

His eyes softened at that, and his forehead fell to mine. "I-I kn-know y-you a-are, b-baby. I am, too. I just wish I knew what they fucking wanted from him, you know?!" he raged, but it came out in a gushing whisper.

"I know," I said, emotions getting to me a little. "But your dad, he wouldn't want us to panic. He'd tell us to focus on what we know and use it." I cleared my throat a little. "They obviously need him alive, or they wouldn't have taken him the way that they did. This isn't about business. This is something else. And I fucking _promise you_, Edward, we will do our best to find out what it is."

Edward cupped my face, one hand sinking into my hair as he stepped closer between my legs. "With all this shit, I haven't asked you. Are you okay? Is this shit bothering you?"

"I'm okay when I have to be, Edward. You know that. But I'm not sure I could let you go without me. I'm not okay with that. I just…can't. Watching him get taken…hearing Esme…"

"Shh," he hushed me, his lips brushing against mine so softly, I could barely feel them, but my heart practically burst. "Breathe, sweetness. It's not the same, but I understand, okay?"

Nodding, I took a deep breath and let it out. I met his soul-searching gaze and nodded that I was okay.

"You should stay, but I need you. I need this," he said, tapping my temple. "We're better together than apart, but Plan B isn't to be forgotten, you hear me?"

I nodded, finally just giving in and kissing him. It was simply the way we worked, the way we sealed promises to each other, and if we hadn't been short on time, I'd have probably ravished him right there inside that bathroom. As it was, he was all things claiming, hungry, and possessive.

We came apart like we'd been busted when a heavy knock pounded on the door. Edward's grin was hilarious, his cheeks a touch pink as he shot a wink my way at our reaction.

"What?" he asked gruffly.

"Ed, get out here. El's on the phone," Jasper said on the other side of the door.

"It's about fucking time," he muttered, helping me down from the bathroom counter and waiting for me to pull my cargo pants back up. Once I was all put together, he kissed my temple. "Let's hope he can help."

**~oOo~**

**EDWARD**

Glancing at the clock, I frowned. I'd wanted to be long gone from Aunt Kate's, but Eleazar had changed everything. We'd closed the computer room, put him on speakerphone, and told him everything that had happened to his sister and brother-in-law, as well as what our plans entailed. At the end of it all, he wanted in, and he had the resources and connections that we didn't, so we had no choice but to sort it all out.

"Edward, I'm going to send Felix straight to the hotel in Moscow to get some answers," he stated over the line. "He'll comb the room, talk to the hotel management, make contact with the Moscow police, and get back with us. You follow that flight plan up until the last fuel-up. I don't want you guys near Moscow just yet, just in case we need the element of surprise. Those coordinates that I gave you will bring you to a farm in Central Siberia. It's a safe house in the middle of no-fucking-where and one of my own personal contacts. They'll take care of you – both fuel and otherwise – until I get there. They'll be waiting for you. You're to stay there until I arrive."

"Ten-four," I muttered, glancing over the new flight plan Alice had reworked for me. "El, before you go…what do you know about these mines my dad was dealing with?"

"A lot, son, and I promise we'll go over it, but not on the phone. Got me?" he replied. "Let's just say that Norilsk has been eyeballed before." He sighed deeply, but went on. "However, I have to agree with Bella. They need your father alive, or they would've shot them both right there in the hotel…or out on the street. They had plenty of time to kill him with all those meetings, but they didn't. They were either biding their time, or something has changed. But they do need him alive for whatever it is they have planned.

"Ed, I know you're in a hurry to get shit started, and I understand, but you're gonna need more than just a crew and a few weapons and toys. Please trust me on this," he begged.

"I do, El. But the more time we fucking waste, the farther he could go. The trail will run cold. I can't afford to lose any advantage I can fucking get my hands on. I promised Esme," I argued, glancing around at my crew. They were all at the ready, every last one of them – even the ones staying behind.

"Your father is important and high-profile now, kid. Bear that in mind. Which means he's a helluva lot more valuable alive than dead. It also means that someone may contact _you_. If they want something bad enough, then they'll ask for it in exchange for your father. In fact, I'd have his office report him missing…like today – as soon as we hang up. It'll put a little pressure on them, make them make the move."

"And Boris Zukov?" Bella asked, narrowing her eyes at the speaker. "Esme said we should find him first."

El laughed humorlessly. "He's one of your father's old mercenary friends. He has the capability to disappear in the wind, but again, we'll talk when we see each other, because his disappearance after your father called him really is fucked up. I'm not stupid enough to think that crew of yours isn't gathering every single bit of intelligence. I'll never underestimate Alice," he said with a light laugh, and the pixie in question smirked without slowing down on the computer. "But I don't want anything over this line. Bring everything you have with you. Get going. I'll be right behind you."

The call ended, and I sat forward, rubbing my face before standing up. All eyes were on me. "Okay, listen up," I said softly. "We're moving out in thirty minutes." I turned to Makenna. "What've you found?"

She tsked, shaking her head. "Not much. Every man inside that hotel has come up empty," she stated, holding up one finger, "except this guy." She pointed to a face on her screen. "His name is Nicholas Gruber. He tracks back to England. London, specifically. Not a lot of history on him, except that he spent time in Krasnoyarsk prison. And yes, before you ask, that's the same town where MCC is located."

My eyebrows shot up at that little piece of information. "What was he in for?"

"Theft," she stated, scrolling through the file on her screen. "I'm currently searching the prison for any matches on other names – you know, employees of the mines, Twi Tech, even past jobs of your dad's."

"Excellent, thank you," I praised her before turning to Alice. "Alice, when Esme arrives, I want you on his cell phone and laptop ASAP. Break them down, scan them for tracking devices, and I want to know who he's talked to, emailed, and what information was so goddamn important that he sent it with her. Okay?"

"I'd planned on it," she told me, but we all turned around when the computer room door opened.

I couldn't help but smile as Sammy quietly wound around everyone, searching out Bella. He scrambled up into her arms, snuggling in. Bethy was right behind him, along with Caleb and Abby. The latter sought out Alec, and he immediately scooped her up into his arms. Obie walked in with Kaitlyn, handing her over to Mickey, who lovingly kissed her cheeks.

"What's all this, _causa_?" Alec asked Abby, smiling when she kissed his cheek and snuggled closer.

"Bethy says Poppy's in trouble, that you guys are gonna help," she answered him softly.

My dad was every one of the kids' Poppy. The thought made me smile and broke my heart at the same time, but it was Obie that spoke to the heart of the matter.

"They wanted to wish you luck," he said, smirking at Caleb, who launched himself at Emmett. "They were asking how long you'd be."

Gazing down at Bethy, I cupped her face and kissed her forehead. "We don't know, little sweetness, but we'll do our best to hurry. And I told you earlier, we'll call as often as we can."

Alice stood up, saying, "C'mere, my little minions." The term of endearment she had for the kids made the whole room chuckle. "All of you, actually. Come look."

Bella stood up with Sammy, and we all gathered around a single monitor.

Alice pointed to the screen, where several different colored dots were grouped together. "This…this is everyone leaving. Bethy, Sarah, Caleb…I know you guys can read, so what do you see?"

Bethy, being the closest and the most outgoing, piped up with, "Names. Oh! It says Bella, Edward, Kurt, Alec, Emmett, and Jasper! It's them!"

Alice grinned. "Exactly." She cupped Sammy's face. "My handsome man, you know your colors, and I know you wanna know. Purple is your mom, and green is your dad. Okay?" She pointed to the dots on the screen. "Whenever you guys want to see them, you just come to me. I'll show you anytime. All right?"

Bella leaned over and kissed Alice's cheek. "Thanks, Ali," she whispered, looking to Sammy. "Does that help, Sammy?"

He nodded, smiling a bit. "Yeah."

Bethy was in front of me, and I bent her head back so she was looking at me upside down. "Feel better, baby?" I asked her with a smirk.

She spun, holding up her arms for me to pick her up, and I did.

"You'll come see Alice when you're missing us."

Bethy nodded, but grabbed my face. Her eyes narrowed on me, looking just like her mother when Bella did that same thing. "Who's gonna be your co-pilot?"

Grinning, I shot a look to Alec, who was fighting his smile. "Uncle Alec is _temporarily_ taking your place, little sweetness."

She eyed his oh-so-falsely innocent face, but looked to me. "I guess that's okay. Make sure he watches your fuel and your horizon."

Fuck me, I loved her. My heart hurt at the thought of both Bella and me leaving, but I truly needed us all. I couldn't deny how proud I was of her and how her loving flying with me meant so fucking much.

Swallowing thickly, I hugged her close. "I tell you what… Why don't you help with pre-flight checks, hmm?"

Bethy grinned, biting her bottom lip in a way that looked like Bella. "Yeah, okay!"

Keeping her in my arms, I glanced at the clock. "Guys. Twenty minutes, and we load up."

**~oOo~**

**CARLISLE**

A loud, metallic clang caused my eyes to snap open. A quick assessment made me realize I couldn't move. My wrists were bound behind my back, my legs were tight together, with one restraint around my knees and another around my ankles, my legs straight out in front of me, and I couldn't see shit. From what I could tell, there was a bag over my head, and what little light there was just barely seeped in through the weave.

My mouth was dry, my lips cracked, and when I licked them, I tasted blood. I shifted, testing everything as quietly and nonchalantly as I could. I wasn't sure if anyone was watching, but I wanted to know where I fucking stood. I was bound by what felt like zip-ties. They were unforgiving bastards and were cutting into my skin.

Closing my eyes, I leaned back against a cold, rough wall. Concrete. The air was stale, cool – almost cold – and there was dirt underneath me. There were echoes coming from every direction, something sounding like machinery or industrial equipment.

My shoes were back on, but loose, my watch was gone, but my wedding band was still on my finger. No wallet, no belt, no gun, no knife. They'd stripped me of everything, including the GPS chip that Alice had put on me.

Taking a deep breath, I let it out slowly, forcing myself to stay calm. I'd known coming to Moscow had been an iffy situation. I'd known that Sergei was dicking me around, but it wasn't until my son had reported Boris missing that alarms had gone off in my head.

Edward. The thought of my son, my grandkids, and Bella made me bang my head against the wall once. I'd raised my son to be sharp, to assess everything, and to always suspect every-fucking-body outside of the small crew we knew. His gut instinct was better than mine, better than I'd ever imagined. Despite his career change to something a lot less dangerous, he still took everything into account. While I'd thought it over-the-top when he'd tried to stop me from flying to Moscow, now I understood why he'd been so damn cautious. It was also why Edward hadn't even batted an eye while trying his fucking best to get us somewhere safe. And he'd done a hell of a job.

Esme.

My eyes closed, and my chest hurt. The last thing I'd seen before I'd been knocked out was my wife hightailing it out of those hotel bay doors. I had faith in my son, my crew, and I was pretty fucking certain Edward had kept his promise to me and my wife was now someplace safe. I _had_ to believe that, or I wouldn't be able to keep my wits about me, and considering I was in some pretty deep shit, I needed to stay fucking sharp.

I froze at the sound of footsteps. I knew just enough Russian to know they were about to check on me, but it changed to rough English when a door slammed open.

"Stop pretending, Cullen. I know you're awake," a deep, gravelly voice snapped.

Sitting up a bit, I braced myself. I could see shadows moving through the fabric, coming farther into the room as shoes stepped closer, step after gritty step. They echoed off the walls, which told me my new holding cell was empty, that there was nothing to absorb the sound.

A swift move made me brace myself even more, and the punch to my face made eyes water and my jaw ache, but I took the hit. Suddenly, my bag was snatched off, and my eyes squinted at the light in my face. It was bright, blocking out the face of my attacker.

"You know, the least you could do is show your fucking face," I snapped, sneering toward the shadow that was moving just out of my line of sight. "You obviously need me alive, or I'd already be six feet under, so what the fuck do you want?"

A deep laugh echoed around me, and I rolled my eyes. "In due time, Mr. Cullen. I'm fairly certain that you're important enough that…oh, _someone_ will come looking for you. See…" he went on, continuing to pace behind the spot light. "I know what you are, Cullen…or _were. _And I also know that you're not as retired as you like to lead people to believe. You play the over-paid, over-fed American businessman, but I'm pretty sure there's some…power left in you. That son of yours, for instance…"

When I shifted at the threat he so subtly sent toward Edward, the bag was slapped back down over my face and another punch rattled my head.

"You stupid _bastard_," I snarled. "You leave them—"

A third punch cut me off. "Shut the fuck up," he growled, not close enough that I could feel the heat from him. "Trust me when I tell you that I _want_ your son to come this way, along with the rest of your old crew. Taking you the way I did _insured_ that I get what I want."

I snorted humorlessly, shaking my head. I opened my mouth to flex my jaw. It wasn't broken, but the asshole was damn well trying. "You _really_ don't know what you're getting yourself into…"

"Trust me, Cullen. If you want to see that pretty wife of yours again…if you want to hug your grandchildren again, then you'd better hope to fucking God that your son, Edward, cooperates," he threatened in a low tone near my ear. "I'll be contacting him soon. You can bank on it."

Barely moving, I pulled back and sent my head forward, head-butting the bastard across the bridge of his nose. I grinned behind my mask, having heard the sickening crack of cartilage, before I pulled back.

A string of curses in English and Russian met my ears, but the order of, "Shut him up," was the last thing I heard before several hands were on me. Punches, kicks, and slaps rattled my teeth with force and vengeance.

The last thing I felt was a pinprick in my arm. Everything went blurry...and then black.

**~oOo~**

**A/N… I know you guys are worried about Daddy C/Poppy. And in order to tell this story, it seemed to be the right thing by giving you his POV, which I've never written before. It took several starts and stops, but I found his "voice" to be very similar to his son's. LOL You will hear from Poppy again, but it won't be often. Okay?**

**Coming up…Siberia…and Eleazar, who has all sorts of tricks up his sleeve. ;)**

**So far, the Sunday/Wednesday posting schedule is working. If that changes (because holidays are coming up and whatnot) I promise to give you a heads-up. But for now, I'll see you guys Wednesday. Until then… Mooches, Deb. ;)**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N… I'm glad that you guys liked Carlisle's POV. And I know that you're ready to get there. However, let me prepare you for something. It's been a LONG time since I sat in a Geography class – longer than I even want to comprehend – so that being said, refreshing my very, very limited knowledge of Russia was tedious. I did my best. Just keep that in mind. If you pull up a map, you'll see that Norilsk and ****Krasnoyarsk are in what is considered the Central Siberian Plateau…the former is far north, the latter a little south. O.o Right…just bear with me. Again, I did my best to keep to that map. Okay?**

**Righty-Oh. I'll let you get on with it. It's time to meet up with Eleazar's contact.**

**~oOo~**

**Chapter 6**

**BELLA**

"Guys, you're getting close to the coordinates El gave us," Alice stated over the headsets.

"Ten-four, Alice," Edward stated wearily.

He was the only one that answered her. We were all a little tired of being in the chopper. It was cramped due to how many of us there were, not to mention supplies, and most of us were just quietly taking in the scenery we could see from our windows.

Technically, what Americans considered to be all of Russia was mostly Siberian territory. The upper portion of Asia that stretched from Alaska all the way to Ukraine was what we'd been taught was the USSR. However, the Soviet Union didn't exist anymore. According to the maps Alice had uploaded onto our tablets, we would be landing somewhere in the middle of the Central Siberian Plateau. That plopped us down a few hundred miles south from Norilsk, the mine that Carlisle owned, and several hundred miles north of MCC, the uranium and plutonium processing combine that he'd requested to visit, which was also the last place his buddy Boris had been seen. It also dropped us around a thousand miles east of Moscow, the last place Carlisle's GPS signal had bleeped.

The ground below us had ranged from wild and natural, like Alaska, to scarred and ruined due to mining. Of course, every girl had eyeballed the diamond mine we'd flown over – not only Mickey and me in the chopper, but also the girls back at home through the cameras – almost ravenously. The boys had been highly amused.

There were thick forests, barren plains, and mountains that stretched on for days it seemed. Despite the fact that it was summer, it was still chilly, which was understandable, considering we were a hop, skip, and jump south of the Arctic Circle, according to Alice. It didn't help that Edward flew at a rather high altitude to not only avoid being seen, but to stay above mountain ranges.

We'd stopped four times for fuel along the way. Once was needed to give Edward a break. He'd been flying for hours, but had needed to rest his eyes. We'd found a small city, landed, and crashed for a few hours at a small motel, only to start back again. We'd changed time zones twice already, and I was having a bitch of a time keeping up. All I knew was that it was almost sunset, I was damned tired of being cramped up, and I was starving. I wasn't even sure what I wanted more – food or sleep.

Below us, there was nothing for miles: just a river, a couple of small mountains, and land…lots and lots of land. But Alec's voice over the headsets snapped my attention back inside the chopper.

"Well, he wasn't fucking kidding," he muttered to Edward, glancing over at him. "El said they'd be waiting for us."

Mickey and I glanced at each other, only to shift forward to see out the front. The property was enormous. But what Alec was talking about was the large lighted area down below. They'd lit up a landing pad for us. It sat off to the edge of several buildings – an enormous barn-like structure, a rather large house, and several fenced-in paddocks. There were a few smaller huts along the edge of the property. Everything was lit up and welcoming, but it was the blonde woman waving to us that my eyes fell to as we set down.

It seemed Edward couldn't shut down the chopper quickly enough before we were all barreling our way out of the side door. But Emmett stopped us.

"I vote we stay armed," he suggested, checking his nine mil before tucking it away in the waistband of his black jeans. "Just to be on the safe side. El may know these people, but we don't."

"I agree," Edward concurred softly with a nod.

"You think she speaks English?" Kurt asked, eyeing the woman that I could now see was pretty and young. Being the youngest of us, not to mention less experienced, Kurt was rather nervous.

"Guess we'll find out," Mickey stated with a grin, smacking his shoulder before hopping down to the ground. "Don't flirt with her just yet. Okay, Mack Daddy?" she teased him.

Grinning, I shook my head. It was no secret that Kurt had become a ladies' man. He was young, good-looking, and extremely sweet. It worked not only in his personal life, but in the work he did for me…in spades. He could charm info out of women, melt the panties off girls with a smile, and the guys egged him on to no end. All the married men surrounding Kurt lived vicariously through him. It was hilarious to watch, simply because they'd all been there and done that.

Once the chopper blades had come to a stop, the blonde woman stepped closer. Her smile was warm and appeared kind, but her eyes raked over the lot of us, including the weapons we all carried. She wasn't stupid, but she wasn't scared, either. She stepped forward, holding out her hand.

"Ah, right on time. Eleazar said you'd come along about now. You must be Edward," she said without a hint of an accent, which caused everyone to come to a standstill.

My husband nodded, smiling as he shook her hand. "I am, and this is Mickey, Alec, Jasper, Emmett, Kurt, and my wife, Bella," he introduced, gesturing to each of us.

"It's nice to meet all of you. I'm Irina Rowan."

"You, too. American?" Edward asked, his brow wrinkling a little.

She laughed. "Technically, no. I was born here, but grew up in New York. I came back about ten years ago. I'll explain more when we get inside. I imagine you guys are tired. Come on. I'll get you something to eat and a place to rest. El wanted me to tell you he's about eight hours behind you. He also said to remind you not to leave before he arrives."

"Fair enough," Edward sighed wearily, reaching back for my hand as we followed Irina to the house. "I'm too tired to argue," he mumbled against my temple.

Irina led us up the front porch steps and into the house. The inside was warm compared to the sharp breeze outside, and there was a fire burning in the fireplace. The kitchen was to the left just inside the door, and it looked like she'd prepared to feed an army.

"Help yourselves. There's plenty," she offered, smiling as we thanked her.

Fresh baked bread and a homemade stew assaulted our senses almost to the point of madness. The bunch of us filled bowls and sat down around her at the large table.

I honestly couldn't help myself, so the questions poured out of me undeterred. "How do you know Eleazar? Do you live alone out here? And what is this place?"

She smiled, chuckling softly. "El was a friend of my father's. They worked together on several things. My father retired, moved back here, and built this place. Just before he died, he made Eleazar promise to watch over me. Once in the CIA, always in the CIA. Even though my father didn't work in the field, he still was kept inside some of the movements. He declared this place a safe house and an information hub, a stopping point from the Middle East to Moscow, essentially. The agency doesn't know about this place, but my father's and Eleazar's friends do. And no, I'm not alone. My brother, Peter, his family, and our grandmother all live here." She smiled, looking down at the floor. "Oh, and Mr. Rogers, too."

We all chuckled when a large orange tabby cat leapt into her lap. His purr was happy, loud, and raspy, but his sharp green eyes took in everyone at the table.

"Mr. Rogers…like the TV show?" Emmett asked with a grin.

"Yeah," she said, snickering a little. "It was a favorite of mine as a kid." She set the cat down and then glanced around the table. "Anyway, you're safe here. When you've eaten, I'll show you where you can get some rest."

We ate quietly after that. I could tell Irina was curious as to why there were a bunch of us in her home, but she never asked. Knowing Eleazar the way that I did, it was most likely habit to simply accept what was. Due to his vocation, he was extremely secretive, but he was also very smart and meticulously careful. I could tell that Irina was the same way.

She told us not to clean up, but we did anyway. It was habit with our crew, no matter where we were. Once everything was put away, she led us back outside toward the large barn. And it turned out that it wasn't a barn at all, but some sort of military cache.

"Whoa," Mickey breathed, taking in what was the size of a small hangar.

Irina smiled. "The plane is my brother's, but everything else belongs to El. It's probably why he brought you here." She swept an arm to her left, gesturing to the vehicles parked along the side.

The plane was small, maybe a two- or four-seater at max. The Jeeps, trucks, and a few motorcycles lined the wall, but it was the far back area that she was leading us to. A handful of doors stood open to what seemed like very small bedrooms. If I had to guess, I would've said they were about the size of the sleeping rooms on a train…or prison cells, but there were enough for each of us to have a bed.

"Make yourselves comfortable. I imagine Eleazar will wake you when he arrives," Irina said, pointing toward a bathroom at the end of the building. "If you need anything, just let me know. I'll be up for a few hours."

Edward eyed the entire building, each bunk, and finally moved toward Irina. "Thank you, Irina," he stated sincerely.

"No need to thank me," she replied, smiling at him as they shook hands. "Something tells me this is just the start of your journey. However, you're welcome to stay as long as you need."

She left the hangar, and Edward spun to face us. "Safe house rules apply here," he stated, his face a mask of weariness, but still controlled. "I need us to take shifts, keeping watch."

"I got first shift," Jasper murmured, eyeing the place with a grin. "I wanna check this shit out." Before leaving us in the back of the building, he said, "I'll make a walk around outside, too."

Edward nodded, turning to me. "Any signal here?"

As the rest of the crew settled into their rooms, I set my backpack down, took out a tablet, and nodded. "She's got satellite, I'm willing to bet."

"Good," he huffed, leading me to the end room. "Send Alice a message that we're okay, that we'll check in when El gets here. We'll need someone in the computer room when we go over everything with him."

I sat down on the edge of a cot, doing as he asked, only to look up when he closed the door. With a grin, I said, "Guess there'll be no cuddling," as I pointed to the other small bed across from me.

"Fuck that shit." He chuckled, crawling in behind me and pulling me to him. "I'm exhausted, and you aren't going anywhere, sweetness."

Giggling, I melted against him. "Is that a Glock in your pocket, Edward, or are you just happy to see me?"

"Both."

I laughed, leaning into his kiss to my neck, but pulled away from him. "As much as I love you armed and dangerous, gimme a break, okay?"

His smile was wicked and amused, but I could tell he was simply worn out from having flown almost a full day and a half. He stood up, and we undressed partially. Edward stripped off his shirt, kicked out of his boots, but left on his pants. I did the opposite, leaving my shirt on, but both of us used the other cot to store our weapons and discarded clothes.

I snatched up a thick blanket from the foot of the bed, yanking it up over us as Edward wrapped himself around me again. I fell asleep to his heavy heartbeat and the comfort of his arms holding me close.

**~oOo~**

**EDWARD**

Slipping carefully out from behind Bella, I stood up off the cot. My muscles protested the stretching, my bones a little achy from having slept in such a tight space, but I'd been too tired. I'd needed Bella's calm, the sweet ease that came with sleeping wrapped around my wife. She was still out cold, curled up in a tight little ball. I adjusted the tiny heater in the corner and then pulled on my boots, my T-shirt, and a black hoodie.

My boots echoed throughout the hangar, and a glance over to my right showed that Emmett was on guard, but he was sitting a table off to the side. He shot me a wave before I trekked into the bathroom. When I joined him, he offered me a cup of coffee.

"Thanks," I sighed, sipping it slowly. "Irina?"

"Actually, no, another woman. The brother's wife? Maybe?" he guessed, shrugging a large shoulder. "She didn't speak English, but she was cool enough to leave us all that." He pointed to a tray full of food.

"Seen El yet?" I asked, rubbing my face roughly.

"Not yet. I think he's here, though, because there's a new SUV parked in front of the house," he stated. "I just got up, actually. Kurt had last shift."

Nodding, I stepped away from him toward the hangar door. The air was cool, almost chilly, the sun barely up. A plateau was silhouetted against a pale sky off in the distance. To my left, the smaller house showed that someone was up, most likely the brother's family. But Emmett was right; there was a new vehicle parked in front of the main house.

My eyes landed on my chopper, and I was just about to walk out to grab a few things for when we talked to Eleazar, but Emmett's voice stopped me cold.

"Ed!" he whisper-yelled across the hangar. "Get over here."

As I walked back to him, the look on his face screamed worry, and I could hear why he'd called me back.

Bella.

"Shit," I sighed, setting my coffee down with a thud. "Nightmare."

"Can she do this?" he asked before I walked away.

I nodded. "Yeah. She'll be fine. She's better with us than if I'd left her behind." Pointing toward the hangar door, I said, "Go grab the info equipment. I wanna be ready to go over everything when El gets out here."

"On it," he agreed, and I turned back before he could leave through the large hanger door.

Walking quietly into the tiny-ass room, I shut the door behind me, immediately kneeling down beside the cot. Sweat beaded on my girl's brow, her hands fisted the blanket, holding on for dear life, and her feet kicked almost violently at the end of the bed.

"Sweetness," I whispered, brushing her hair from her dream-tortured face. "Look at me, love. Open your eyes."

She struggled for a few more seconds, but watery brown eyes finally opened to gaze unseeingly up at me.

"Hey," I whispered, dropping a kiss to her forehead. "Okay?"

She nodded, but stayed quiet, sliding as far to the other side as the little bed would allow. When she held her arms out for me, I didn't resist. I shrugged out of my hoodie and slipped in beside her, pulling her as close as I could. She snuggled her face into my neck, which made me jump.

"Damn, your nose is as cold as the dogs'."

Her giggle was short-lived and soft.

"Want me to turn up the heat, baby?" I asked her in a whisper, pulling at her until I could see her face.

She shook her head no, pressing her forehead to mine. "No, you're warm enough."

I waited patiently for her to tell me the dream, but she didn't. She seemed to be simply soaking my presence in, so I let her. Sometimes, she'd get it off her chest, and then there were times when talking about it only reminded her of why she had them in the first place. I was used to it, and I followed her lead. Always. It was how we'd worked from the very fucking second I'd picked her up off the table in Miller's dungeon.

Her eyes closed briefly, and a long, sexy bare leg wrapped around my thigh, bringing me closer to her. I couldn't help but reach out and touch a flat hand to it, my thumb dragging along the scar of her thigh. But it was the arms snaking around my neck and the soft brush of lips against mine that made me moan out loud.

"Bella…" I tried to warn her, but she did it again, only this time, I could feel the heat from between her legs searing the outside of my black cargos.

"Please, Edward."

My resolve flew out the fucking window. It was simply gone, never to be seen again. She needed to forget, and I needed her just as badly. As much as I wanted to focus on where we were, the task at hand, there was just something centering about being with Bella.

Threading my fingers into her hair, I brought her lips to mine almost harshly. My tongue claimed her, my body rolling and bringing her with me. With a grip to her thighs, I spread them so that she straddled me. I sucked her bottom lip, only to pop off, my eyes meeting dark and needy.

"Oh fuck, sweetness. You have to be so, so fucking quiet. Everything echoes out there," I warned her in a desperate whisper.

Her breathing was heavy as her eyes closed, and she nodded fervently. "'Kay. Just don't stop," she commanded, reaching almost frantically between us to undo my belt, button, and zipper.

I lifted us both slightly to shove my pants and underwear down just enough that I could feel her. The second her hand wrapped around my dick, my head fell back and another moan erupted out of me.

"Shh," she hissed against my lips, smiling a little.

My hands were everywhere on her – under her shirt, slipping beneath her sexy black underwear, tugging the cups of her bra down in order to really feel her. There was some sense of urgency, and it seemed neither of us wanted to be completely undressed, but I wanted to make sure she was ready for me. Gliding a finger under the edge of her panties, I grinned with satisfaction that she was so very wet.

"Here, love?" I barely breathed, raising an eyebrow at her. "You want me here, baby?"

She nodded, pushing herself up and bracing her hands on my stomach as I toyed with her for just a moment. Yanking her underwear to the side and gathering up a little of her slickness, I rolled my fingers around her clit, making her hips surge forward and her eyes to roll back, but my girl was gripping the front of my shirt like a lifeline.

"Bella, up a little," I ordered softly, popping her butt cheek lightly. "You ready?" I asked her, dragging my tongue along my bottom lip and guiding myself to her entrance.

There really wasn't anything that felt as good or fucking _looked_ as good as my Bella sinking down over me. The heat – the slick, wet heat – was so damn good. We just…fit. We'd always fit so perfectly. My mouth fell open as she enveloped me, my hands gripping at her hips to hold her still for just a second.

We weren't going to keep quiet in this position. With a grin, I sat up, keeping her astride my lap.

"I'm gonna kiss the shit out of you if you get too loud, sweetness," I explained with a brush of my lips across her cheek to her ear, "but fuck me, baby. C'mon. It's just you and me. Nothing else matters right this second. Got me?"

Her head bobbed in a nod, but her hands flattened on either side of my face. Using her knees, she started to move, still holding my face to hers.

I kissed her when she got too loud, but my hands wouldn't stop touching. I rolled a peaked nipple with one hand while guiding her hips with the other, occasionally squeezing her ass to urge her on. But my eyes stayed locked on to her face. She was so fucking beautiful, especially when she was lost to us like she was right then.

"Unngh," she moaned, and I drank it in with a kiss. "Edward," she whispered, her brow furrowing a little.

"I know," I breathed back, my thumb finding that sweet, swollen part of her where we were connected that sent her over the edge every fucking time. "Let it go."

The orgasm hit her like a freight train. It vibrated over every inch of her, including the shaky grip she had on my shoulders. A smile curled up one corner of my mouth, because damn it all, I loved being the one to make her come that fucking hard. Her breathing stopped for a moment, but her body quaked around me, bringing me right along with her.

Bella's elbows rested on my shoulders, and her arms wrapped around my head as I buried my face in her neck. Our heartbeats were frantic, but at least we'd kept the shit quiet.

"I love you," she whispered in my ear.

"Love you, too," I panted, pressing my lips to her neck before pulling back to look at her face.

She looked contrite, like she'd be in trouble. "I'm sorry."

"Why? I'm not."

Bella smiled, a breathy laugh huffing from her. "We should be focused on your dad, not…"

Grinning at her needless guilt, I shrugged a shoulder. "You needed me, and I'm okay with that, sweetness. Maybe I needed this too, love."

"I just…I don't want to be a distraction, Edward," she stated with a sigh, wrinkling her nose, her gaze falling somewhere over my shoulders. "My dreams are just… Shit, I'm just worried, ya know?" she asked, raking her fingers deliciously through my hair as I nodded. "So just…ignore them."

"I-I c-can't, B-Bella." I shrugged again, tilting my head. "I-It's a-a p-part o-of m-me t-to t-take c-care o-of y-you. That won't change, so you can fucking forget about it."

She giggled softly, smiling down at me. "Well, try, sweetheart. They're just because I'm scared for him."

We both jumped when the loud sound of metal doors echoed throughout the hangar.

A laugh barked out of me. "We keep acting like we're busted, sexy girl. You'd think what we were doing was wrong."

Her soft, secret little giggle was the best thing I'd heard in the last twenty-four hours. But she kissed me roughly, finally getting up off my lap.

"El must be here," she surmised, snatching up her clothes. "I'll clean up a little, and we'll catch him up, okay?"

"Yes, ma'am." I righted my clothes and pulled my hoodie back on, waiting for her to get dressed before reaching for the door.

I could see that everyone was starting to come around. Alec and Emmett were at the table with El, who shot me a wave, and Mickey stepped out of her room with a yawn, her curly hair gathered up in a ponytail.

"Besides, I wanna know what he knows," she stated, locking gazes with me.

"Bathroom, love." I pointed to the left. "We'll start when you're ready."

As Bella walked away, I made my way toward the table, where everyone was gathered. Eleazar smiled, stood up, and shook my hand.

"Hey, kid, how're you holding up?" he asked me.

"Okay. I'll feel better if we could just fucking get somewhere," I stated truthfully. I turned to Kurt, handing him Bella's tablet. "Sync up a video chat with Alaska. Someone should be up."

Kurt nodded, set the tablet on a keyboard, and started typing away. I poured myself another cup of coffee, knowing Bella would share mine. I fell down in a chair next to Mickey, who looked like she'd rather have her cup of coffee hooked up as an IV.

Eleazar sat down across from me, his expression serious. "I need to thank you…for Esme, Edward. She told me what you did. How you helped her get away."

I frowned, my gaze falling to the cup in front of me, but I glanced up when Bella slipped into the empty chair to my right.

Swallowing thickly, I said, "I had no choice. They'd have used her against him, I think. And my dad…he threw himself in front of her in order for her to be able to run. You've talked to her?"

El nodded. "Yeah, on my way here." He gave everyone at the table a long, slow glance. "What I'd like to hear is what you guys know. Then I'll tell you what I've found out so far."

Gesturing to the tablet, I said, "We need Alice in on this, so go ahead, Kurt."

Kurt touched the screen, bringing up the video chat. I had to smile, because all the kids were crammed into the shot – Bethy, Sammy, Caleb, Abby, and Kaitlyn.

"Aunt Alice's Bar and Grill," they all sang.

"You kill 'em, we grill 'em," Sammy tacked on with a silly grin.

The whole table cracked the fuck up.

Bella leaned into my shoulder with a chuckle, saying, "Hey guys! Are you my info team now?"

"Nah, Mommy," Bethy answered first with a giggle. "We're just answerin' the calls."

"Yeah," Sammy added slowly. "Aunt Alice said you'd wanna see us."

"We do, buddy." I smiled at the sight of their happy faces. "You guys are being good for Aunt Kate?"

"Yes," they all answered in unison.

"Oh! But Mommy, Daddy, guess what?" Bethy gushed excitedly.

"What, pretty girl?" Bella asked, her eyes drinking in the sight of our kids on the screen.

"Look who's here!" she said, tugging the rest of the kids out of the way.

"Esme," Bella and Mickey sighed in relief.

She looked weary and heartbroken, but much more in control than when I'd talked to her last, which was just before she'd gotten on the plane in Moscow.

"Hey, guys…El," she greeted, smiling at us all.

"Es, we're about to go over everything, compare notes, if you will. Can you sit in with Alice?" Eleazar asked her. "If there's something you know, something you've seen, you need to speak up."

"Okay," she agreed, turning her head to the side. "Kids, come say bye."

Several hyper, happy faces crammed around Esme, chatter booming out at us nonstop. I chuckled again, shaking my head, but damn, if they weren't the cure for everything.

Bethy shoved her way forward. "Bye, Mommy and Daddy. Be safe! Love you."

"Bye, little sweetness," I told her as Bella blew kisses.

Once Caleb and Abby had talked to Emmett and Alec, not to mention a few adorable babbles from Kaitlyn to Mickey, Sammy was left front and center on the screen.

His deep brown eyes seemed to flicker from me to his mother. "I miss you. When you comin' home?" he asked, his tone accusatory and serious

"Handsome, I miss you, too, but look at me," Bella told him, and when he seemed to have his eyes concentrated on her, she went on. "We will do our _absolute_ _best_ to hurry. I promise, Sammy. Okay?"

"'Kay," he sighed. "I don't like it."

"Me, either, pal. Trust me," I concurred, shaking my head, especially when we both clawed at our hair at the same time, causing snorts around the table. "You gotta hang in there for me, Sammy. Be brave. You're a strong boy, " I told him, and I flinched at the sound of my own dad's words coming back to bite me in the ass. For a split second, I wondered just how many times he'd said that to me as a kid.

Glancing over at Bella, I could see that she was curious as to why I'd reacted that way, but I turned back to the computer before Sammy got down from the table.

"Sam, wait!" I called, swallowing nervously and shaking my head. "Forget what I said, okay? You don't have to be brave. I know it's tough. And…and…I know you don't like it, but if you're feeling sad, go to Gamma, okay? Don't…" I sighed, shaking my head, because I wasn't going to force my son to bottle shit up like I'd had to as a kid. "Just tell her, and I'd be willing to bet she'd make it better."

He smiled and nodded. "She promised cookies!" he whispered, as if Esme wasn't standing right behind him wearing a silly smirk.

Grinning, I nodded. "Good. Eat a few for Mommy and me, yeah?"

"Yeah," he said slowly, looking up when Alice walked by him. "Love you. Be safe."

As he slipped down off the chair, Bella's hand slid into mine under the table, giving it a squeeze. I leaned over and kissed her temple, knowing for a fucking fact that she'd be asking about that later.

Alice loomed into the screen, picking up her laptop and moving it. "Okay, let's get started."

We brought Eleazar up to speed on everything we'd found out up until we'd left. Alice sent several files his way, including the background checks she'd done on everyone that my dad had been dealing with so far. We told him about Nicholas Gruber, the only man we'd been able to identify in my dad's kidnapping, about how Sergei Maslov's background was squeaky clean, but he'd been the one that had kept changing plans on my father, and finally about Boris Zukov, my dad's old mercenary friend that still had not popped up anywhere, even though Alice was watching.

"Before we get to Eleazar," Alice stated once we were all on the same page, "I want you to know that I've hooked Carlisle's laptop up to Igor and I'm running a system scan now. I've also done the same with his phone. I hope to know something before bed tonight. It takes a bit, simply because it'll tell me every single keystroke on the damn things."

We all nodded, Bella thanking Alice aloud.

Eleazar sat forward, resting his elbows on the table. "Okay, so Felix arrived in Moscow late last night. He's going to check out the hotel, and then he's gonna make contact with the police. Once he's done that, he's going to call me with what he knows. Now…Norilsk." He smiled ruefully, glancing up at me. "Back in the eighties, the Cold War was in full swing. America was the good guys, Russia the bad guys…well, depending on who you were. Everyone was making nuclear bombs, everyone was spying on everyone else, and around every corner, there was someone selling information, weapons, secrets, what have you."

He stood up and started pacing. "Norilsk is responsible for providing several countries the metal to make coins. It's big business, but it's nasty business – environmentally and contractually. When the Moscow bank took over Norilsk, it was after the management had completely fallen apart. There were employees there who had been involved in underhanded shit. They're now either imprisoned, or dead."

Those words fell heavily into the room, but he kept going.

"Twi Tech – Charlie Swan, actually – bought out the bank, and along with it, Norilsk. It continued to run as it always had, but no one paid it much attention, really. The mines run deep there. Really deep. And it wasn't uncommon for shady deals to be made out the back door, so to speak." Eleazar looked to me. "Several of those deals were stopped by the CIA, though you'd never hear about them or read about them in the paper."

"What sort of shady deals?" Bella asked.

"Some of it was simply information," he answered, sitting back down. "Not everyone was gung-ho about the ending of the Cold War. Some didn't trust anyone – not the U.S., not their own government, no one. They felt the surrendering of nuclear weapons was scary, that it left everyone open to attack. So some squirreled them away or sold them behind closed doors."

He turned to me. "Your father and his crew took care of one such individual – Alexander Gunter. That asshole killed hundreds of people, uprooted families from their homes, and almost caused a fucking global disaster with Chernobyl."

Bella gasped, looking up at me. "Holy shit…the story you told me."

I nodded, looking around the table. "I remember that job. I was fourteen when Garrett told me about that mission. My dad flew over here to take care of this guy ten years after the meltdown. Apparently, he'd planned to do it again somewhere else, but never got the chance."

"Exactly," El agreed with a nod. "We couldn't do it," he said, pointing to himself, "but your dad could. It was much appreciated." He smirked, but took a deep breath. "Gunter used Norilsk as a cover for his work – nuclear physics. He'd sell plans or designs to other countries – countries without weapons."

"Sweet Christ, you mean Chernobyl wasn't a practice accident?" Jasper asked, his mouth hanging open when Eleazar and I shook our heads no. "Oh damn…"

"Anyway, we thought Norilsk had been emptied of those types of people, that it's simply hard-working miners, scientists, and employees. Your dad would've known its history, and I'd be willing to bet he kept an eye on it. Selling it would've been easy, due to the profit margin and the fact that nickel is a precious metal, but to whom?" he posed, holding up a finger.

That caused us all to shrug. None of us knew.

"Exactly. To sell it to the wrong people could mean trouble. And knowing Carlisle like I do, he'd be very fucking selective as to who gets it." Eleazar looked to the screen where Alice and now Rose were listening raptly. "Ladies, when you finish that scan of Carlisle's computer, you'll want to look for everything having to do with Norilsk. Everything."

"Yes, sir," they answered him.

El flipped through the intel Alice had sent him. "This Nicholas Gruber looks familiar, but I'm not sure where. MI-6, maybe? He's British, yeah?"

"Yes, but he's been incarcerated."

"Right. Incarcerated in a prison that sits in the same damn town as a huge uranium processing combine…MCC," Eleazar countered. "We may need to check in at the prison at some point, not to mention MCC," he mumbled to himself.

"What about Boris Zukov?" Bella asked. "Carlisle's friend. He'd been working at MCC, but now is nowhere to be found."

El smiled again, though it wasn't in humor. "There's a huge fucking underground market for uranium-235, which is weapons-grade. Just because Carlisle is on the up and up, it doesn't mean all his friends are."

"True," Emmett stated, nodding a little. "So what now? I mean, we're a day away from Moscow, and we've lost Carlisle's signal. If we wait too much longer, the trail will either run cold, or it's possible that we'll find him in a ditch somewhere."

Emmett's temper was barely under control, much like my own. And what we had in common was the inability to sit patiently while shit went to hell. We were better on the move, in action…_doing something_.

"El," Esme piped up on the video chat, and when we all turned our attention to her, she continued. "Carlisle trusts Boris Zukov. Adamantly. His theory was that Boris disappeared for safety reasons after they spoke on the phone. Boris must've asked him three times if he was really in Moscow."

Eleazar's brow wrinkled, but he nodded. "Fair enough. Let's hope his trust isn't misplaced."

"My vote is Moscow next," Alec spoke up, looking to me. "I say fly into that airfield that his signal last stopped, ask some questions, jog some memories. We may have to grease some palms…" His voice trailed off, but he raised an eyebrow at me.

"I have to agree with Alec on that one. It's where I'd start," Bella piped up.

Mickey nodded. "As much as I hate to say it… We have to treat this like any other missing person. Sorry, pretty boy."

"No, no…you guys are right," I sighed, raking a hand through my hair. "If we don't think that way, this becomes personal."

"Personal means possible mistakes," Jasper added with a nod. "My only reservation is to wait on Felix. I wanna know what he finds out before we take off."

Nodding in agreement, I turned to Eleazar. "Are you in on this?"

"Oh, yeah," he snorted, standing up. He waved a hand around him. "And anything I have is at your disposal."

Jasper grinned like it was fucking Christmas, smacking Emmett's shoulder as they got up from the table to rummage around El's stores. There were weapons lined along the far back wall where the Jeeps and motorcycles were parked.

"Besides, if I don't help my sister, she'll kick my ass," he teased, giving the camera on the computer a wink.

Esme smiled, but shook her head. "No, but I can't thank you all enough. I want you all to be careful, watch each other's backs. Okay?"

"Hooah," Jasper and Emmett replied from across the hangar.

Kurt was reaching for the tablet just as a shrill ring echoed loudly from Eleazar's pocket. He pulled it out, holding up a finger.

"Boys!" he yelled, and Jasper and Emmett double-timed it back to the table. "Ladies, listen in. This is Felix," he told the girls on the video chat. Swiping a finger across the screen, he said, "Talk to me."

"Oh, boy," Felix sighed over the speakerphone. "I've got info. Who's listening?"

"Everybody, so go," Eleazar ordered.

"I went to the hotel under the guise of picking up Carlisle's things as a member of the family," he started. "The hotel management practically left hickeys on my ass to apologize for what happened. It seemed they reviewed the security footage. Anyway, nothing's left. Someone ransacked the room, tore up all the shit that was left, and hauled ass."

"That's not surprising," El stated. "Keep going."

"Next, they put me in touch with the Moscow police," he went on. "It seems they lost the van, but it was so nondescript that no one was shocked. However, Carlisle and Esme received a visitor not five minutes after all that shit went down."

"Who?" I snarled, my fists balling up on the table.

"Sergei Maslov," he answered. "The police took him in for questioning. In fact, he's still there. Apparently, Carlisle's disappearance has now gone public. Twi Tech – specifically Jacob Black – has reported him missing."

"Yeah, we knew that much," Alice stated. "We called to tell him. Eleazar said to make it known."

"Yeah, well…now someone somewhere is starting to sweat. And they've sent a puppet to deliver a message."

"What the fuck are you talking about?" I asked, locking gazes with Eleazar.

"I'm talking about Sergei Maslov. He absolutely refuses to speak to anyone, with the exception of one person," Felix stated.

"Who?" Bella, Mickey, and Eleazar all asked at the same time.

He cleared his throat. "He's being held inside the police station, but he says he has a message…for Edward Cullen."

The room froze, but I looked to Eleazar. "You said they'd make demands."

"Mm, I did," he concurred.

"What do ya wanna do, kid?" Alec asked, looking like he was about to jump up from the table.

Turning to Bella, I saw unwavering support, but it wasn't just her. It was everyone at the table and on the computer.

I inhaled sharply and stood up. "Fine," I practically growled, nodding once. "The motherfucker wants to see me, then I'll get in his fucking face. Everyone, on me. Fuel up, gear up, and load up. Let's go!"

**~oOo~**

**A/N… I know you guys are worried as to why Edward seems to be the focus. I promise that you'll find out. Soon. Most of you are just a little off the mark with your guesses. ;) But there's nothing like Edward soothing away a nightmare… ;)**

**As always I need to thank my girls for all their support – JenRar, GooberLou, inkedupmom, and DrivingEdward. A big mooch goes to Beffers87 for her amazing artwork, which you can see on my FB and Twitter, not to mention my blog. Those links are on my profile, and I try to post teasers before every chapter. **

**Again, the crew will be back Sunday. Until then… Mooches, Deb. ;)**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N… WOW! You guys are all over the place with theories. Please don't ask me if you're close; I won't tell you. ;) Though, I believe this chapter will shine a light on a few things. **

**Again, I need to remind you that I've twisted real history/places with fiction. Just keep that in mind. **

**I won't keep you. I know you guys are really worried about Edward and this meeting with Sergei, so I'll let you get to it…**

**~oOo~**

**Chapter 7**

**BELLA**

Leaning against the outside window of the small airport, I smirked as Alec took Kurt inside to speak to the girl behind the counter. We'd landed a few minutes ago, and it was now late afternoon, early evening. Somewhere along the line, I'd lost another hour of time…or gained one. I wasn't sure which, but it was annoying.

I gave my surroundings a long, slow gaze. It looked like any other small industrial airport that Edward used frequently. There was very little air traffic, but the hangars were busy, not to mention the helicopter landing pad where he'd set down. He was still securing everything, and Eleazar and Jasper had gone to grab a couple of rental SUVs. Mickey and Emmett had ridden with them.

A look back inside the office of the airport made me smirk. The girl behind the counter was already blushing, her eyes drifting from Alec, to Kurt, and then back to Alec. They were shameless, charismatic flirts. Charming information out of women had become a true skill – it was dead useful. And at this point, I was beyond giving a shit about the who or how, because I damn well wanted information like yesterday about Carlisle.

We were all dressed in regular clothes, something that Eleazar insisted upon. He'd told us we needed to look like Carlisle's family, not a small army about to take Moscow by storm. I'd laughed, because one look at our crew screamed military, mercenary, and unwavering discipline. It didn't help that we were all armed to the teeth, that the chopper was packed with weapons and equipment, or that most of us barely had our tempers or our worry in check.

Especially Edward.

My eyes drifted back to my husband. He looked so handsome in black pants, a white button down, and a black leather jacket. The ever-present baseball cap had come off as soon as he'd touched down, so his hair stuck up everywhere, and a couple of day's stubble was growing in on that sharp jawline.

He slammed the side bay door closed on the chopper, shouldering a black duffle bag. Internally, I cringed at the look on his face. God, he was pissed. His eyes were pure black hate and fire, his jaw rolling with every clench of his teeth, and his hands balled up and released over and over. He was barely in control, and I wasn't sure I blamed him. The only thing keeping me focused when it came to this asshole that had a message for Edward was that he was still sitting in the middle of the Moscow police station.

The duffle bag hit the sidewalk at my feet with a somewhat metallic thunk, and Edward leaned next to me.

"Anything?" he asked, and I shook my head no. When his eyes met mine, they softened exponentially to a lighter green, and he leaned in to kiss my forehead. "Relax, love. We'll go see this fucker soon. Let him tell me what the fuck he wants. I'll do my best not to break his face inside that police station."

Nodding again, I reached up to toy with his stubborn curl in the middle of his forehead. Even though his hair was shorter, it still had a mind of its own.

"I know," I said softly, "but you need to stay calm, baby." When he nodded, I decided he needed a distraction. "Wanna tell me about that conversation with our son, Edward?"

He smiled, shaking his head and glancing down at his feet. A small, light laugh escaped him. "I knew you'd ask."

Grinning, I kissed his lips. "Tell me what that was all about."

He grimaced, his eyes raking across the airport, but they were glazed with a faraway look. "My dad," he stated, looking back to me. "He used to tell me all the time that I was a big boy, a strong boy, that I had to be fucking brave when he'd leave for overseas when I was a kid. It was okay when I had my mom – not great, just okay – but after…" His nose wrinkled, and his head shook back and forth slowly. "After she was gone, it just…it sucked, especially knowing what he did once he was out of the service. He made me feel like I couldn't…_feel_ anything, that I had to suck it up, that I wasn't allowed to worry or be sad or anything. I-I n-never w-want S-Samuel t-to f-feel th-that w-way. H-He d-doesn't d-deserve i-it." He paused for a moment, and a guilty grimace came across his sweet face. "My dad did the best he could, baby, and I know he was all alone. I don't blame him for a damn thing, but I don't want to make my own kids feel that way. Am I even fucking making sense, sweetness?"

Frowning, I absorbed that answer for a moment. I studied his handsome face, thinking that I had to be the luckiest woman on the damn planet. Edward was hands down the best father. He loved Bethy and Sammy with a tenacity that outshined anything from his past. It was beautiful to see. But I could also remember the one time I'd met him when we were just kids – that sad, stuttering, shy boy, who was heartbroken at the loss of his mother. He'd been quiet and reserved. And I wondered if that stemmed from Carlisle.

"He only wanted you to keep going, to not let things drag you down, but in doing that, he made you feel like you had to keep it all inside," I surmised, trailing my fingers along his stubbly jaw. When he nodded, I kissed his lips. "As much as Samuel is like you, he's like me, too, sweetheart. He has no problem voicing his concerns, which he did on the video call earlier. I'm very proud of him. We did good, baby." I grinned when a crooked smile quirked up his face.

"I know we did, sweetness," he sighed forlornly, the beautiful smile slipping off his face. "Just…" He shook his head and gripped his hair for a second. "Just hearing my dad's words come out of my own fucking mouth. Don't ever let me do that to either of them, Bella. Swear it."

"Edward," I said, a giggle escaping me. "I don't have to swear it, sweetheart. You did just fine on your own."

His gaze was disbelieving as he shot me a smirk, but he finally nodded. The doors to the airport office flew open, and Alec and Kurt stepped out, looking rather proud of themselves.

"Well?" Edward and I asked at the same time.

"She doesn't know much," Kurt answered, shrugging a shoulder. "She looked up the day that Carlisle's signal stopped, but several small planes took off that day around that time. I sent the list to Alice to cross-reference the names we already know. Maybe something will turn up."

"Knowing Alice, she's taking that list and breaking into their system as we speak," I chortled, shaking my head.

Two black cars pulled up to the curb – one a large SUV and the other a BMW. Eleazar was in the latter alone, and Jasper was driving the former. Edward snatched up the duffle bag and handed it to Emmett in the SUV before guiding me to the car. Alec slid into the front seat and Edward and I into the back. Kurt joined Mickey, Emmett, and Jasper.

Eleazar touched his cell phone, saying, "Jasper, listen up back there," as he accelerated out of the airport.

"Talk to us," Jazz replied. "What's the plan for this police station?"

"My vote?" Alec stated, turning sideways so he could look to Edward, who nodded for him to go on. "My vote is to send the son and daughter-in-law in. Edward's who this guy wants to talk to, but if we all walk in, it's gonna set off alarms."

"You'll need a translator," Eleazar reminded us.

"Send Kurt with them," Jasper suggested. "No offense, El, but Felix is already inside there, so it's best to keep you hidden. Who the fuck knows who's watching this shit, you know? And it's just an idea, but I'd spread us around. You need eyes in the sky, Ed."

"Ten-four," Edward stated, nodding once and looking out at the city whizzing by. He sniffed once, looking to Alec, but his command was to all of us. "J, I want you on the roof of the building directly across from the police station. Figure a way to get up there. Mickey, you go with him. You'll find what you need in the bag. Emmett and Alec, take the street – opposite corners. Bella, Kurt, you're with me. El, I want you listening in. If you can, have Felix meet you. Stay by the cars. Depending on what this asshole has to say to me, we may need to hit the road running."

"Felix is waiting for you. Send him my way," Eleazar told us, continuing to navigate the streets as quickly as possible.

The phone stayed connected, but Edward picked up my hand and linked our fingers together. Kissing the back of it, he said, "Sweetness, I want you invisible by my side. I want you listening, looking, and studying every motherfucker in there. Don't say shit to anyone, not that they'll understand you. But the less you draw attention, the better."

Nodding, I agreed with him. We needed to go in as worried relatives, not interrogators. Though, I was pretty fucking sure that if this Sergei gave one iota of trouble to Edward via Kurt, he may snap, despite the fact that it was in a police station. Had this been a case at home, it would've been me asking the questions, but this was different. The boys had already reverted back to their former soldier mentality – dark dispositions and sharp eyes...and even their military lingo had returned. They had fun working for me, but this was what they _used_ to do. This was a foreign country where the stakes were high – life or death high – and not a cheating spouse. If we fucked up, we could lose my godfather, my husband's father, and that simply could not happen, so I was Edward's to command.

"We'll have to go in unarmed?" I guessed, glancing at each man in the car with me. "I can't imagine they won't have a scanner. No weapons. If they're like some of the stations back home…" I trailed off, but I could see I'd hit the nail on the head.

"Fuck," Edward hissed, gripping his hair. "You know, she's right."

"Unfortunately," Alec groaned, but reached to his back, pulling out his nine mil, only to secure it back. He nodded once, saying, "Okay, you two, give 'em up."

Edward and I removed our weapons, handing them up at the same time Emmett told Kurt to do the same thing in the car behind us. Mickey, however, was on a tablet, already seeking out the best location for everyone.

"Okay, you're comin' up on a parking garage. That'll actually make shit easier. J and I can sneak out the back, because there's a building right across the street. However, I'd dump Em and Alec off before pulling in," she suggested.

"Okay," Jasper stated, and both cars pulled to a stop about a block away from an extremely large building. "Tuck and roll, assholes," he snorted over the line, which made Alec chuckle and roll his eyes at the same time.

"I'm getting too old for this shit," Alec muttered before tucking an ear piece in and slamming the car door.

Eleazar grinned, but turned into the parking garage. He found a far back corner, pulling in swiftly.

"Everyone, check in," he ordered, securing his own ear piece.

I shot a quick glance behind me as Mickey and Jasper walked casually out the back of the garage and onto the street. Once we made sure that all the com links were working, Edward and I got out, met Kurt at the back of the car, and made our way to the front of the police station, leaving El behind.

The station was tan, concrete, and in the shape of a large U or C – I couldn't quite tell, simply because it was damned big. Wrought iron encircled the whole block, and it seemed to have a fair amount of foot traffic going in and out of the front doors.

Felix was waiting patiently just outside, and he gave us a quick smile, though it fell immediately. He shook Kurt's and Edward's hands, but pulled me to a brief hug.

"Hangin' in there?" he asked us, and we all nodded. "Okay, this guy speaks English, but most of the policemen don't. You want a Detective Petrovich. He's the one that's been dealing with this Sergei guy, and he's in charge of your father's case. His English isn't bad. He thinks Carlisle is my uncle. They're all aware you're coming, except Maslov. Right now, he's sweating bullets."

"Good. Nervous means honest," Edward stated roughly, sounding a little like Carlisle.

"Maybe, but I have a feeling his tit's in the ringer," Felix countered. "I think he's in some deep shit he can't get out of."

"Duly noted," Edward acknowledged, nodding once. Casually, he looked around, noting Alec's position and then Emmett's. "There's a garage behind us," he told Felix without indicating exactly where. "You'll find El back there. Grab a com link and listen in, yeah?"

"You got it, Ed." Felix patted his shoulder. "No matter what this fucker says, we'll get your dad back. I have a feeling you'll need all the help you can fucking get."

"Thanks, Felix," I whispered, giving him a small smile.

He shot me a wink and shoved his hands into the pockets of his pants before walking away.

The front entrance to the police station was exactly what I'd assumed. It was busy, a line for the scanner to get in fairly long, but the officers worked quickly and efficiently to get everyone through. Being unarmed felt off, but we didn't have a choice, and luckily, it made going through the line that much easier.

Kurt took the lead once we stepped up to the front desk. The only word I recognized when he spoke was "Petrovich," which caused a wide-eyed expression of understanding to cross the officer's face. He immediately picked up the phone and spoke to someone.

Two men appeared at the side. "Which of you is Edward Cullen?" the taller of them asked us.

"I am," Edward said, stepping forward and shaking the man's hand.

The officer was lean, probably around Edward's age, with light brown hair, and his smile was friendly. Placing a hand on his chest, he said, "I'm Lev Petrovich."

"This is my wife, Isabella, and our friend, Kurt," Edward introduced, placing a hand on my shoulder.

The officer smiled our way. "You must forgive my English. It's rusty."

"No problem," Kurt stated. "I can translate if you get stuck."

Petrovich nodded, but turned back to Edward. "This way." He gestured toward a hallway, leading us into an office. "I'm handling your father's case. I'm sorry, but so far, we've run into some dead ends."

Edward nodded as we sat down in the chairs in front of the man's desk. "My cousin called me just after it happened. We took the first plane here," he stated, his lies rolling smoothly off his tongue. Eleazar had told us to play shit close to the vest, to not give anyone anything unless it was absolutely necessary, and Edward was doing just that. "He told me they took my father right out of the hotel. My stepmother was barely able to get away. She's safe now."

I flinched at the menacing tone that came from my husband, but he was nothing if not protective of those he loved. The fact that Esme had barely squeaked out of Moscow still weighed heavily on him, and I wasn't so sure it wasn't the fact that he'd had to talk her through the whole thing.

"Ah, that was my next question," Petrovich noted, jotting something down in a file. "Did your cousin tell you about the man we're talking to?" he asked carefully.

"Yes. He said he was asking for me."

Petrovich eyed Edward for a moment, but the cold, blank stare that gazed back at him was unwavering. Edward may have been playing the part, but it was quite obvious that my husband was pissed, that he couldn't be intimidated, no matter who was asking the questions.

"Your father…he's…how do I put it?" Petrovich wavered, trying to find the right words.

"Extremely wealthy and well-known?" Kurt provided wryly.

"Yes, exactly. Mr. Cullen, it is quite possible that this person we've been talking to may want to exploit that," the officer stated.

Edward sniffed and nodded once. "Yes, it's always been a concern when my father travels out of the country. I try to insist that he always take protection with him, but he didn't this time. The business that he was attending to was fragile, he'd told me, so he didn't want to bring security with him."

Petrovich sat back in his chair. "And how does your father know Sergei Maslov?"

To anyone that didn't know Edward, his face barely changed. To me, however, his eyes darkened and a small sneer twitched his upper lip just barely, not to mention the balling up of his fists on the other side of the desk where Petrovich couldn't see. It was all Edward could to do to maintain his desire to ask about the son of a bitch. Hell, I'd have been willing to bet money that my former mercenary was a gnat's ass away from tearing the place apart in order to squeeze the information out of him.

"Maslov runs Norilsk Mine, which my father owns," Edward stated smoothly. "It's not surprising that they were meeting, but what _is_ surprising is that he's asking for me."

Petrovich nodded again, only to stand up. "I was going to try one more time to get him to tell us what he wants with you before I let him know you're here. Would you like to listen in?"

"Yes, sir, absolutely," Edward agreed, standing up as well.

We were led down a hallway to another door. Once inside, it looked like any other interrogation room in the States – a room with a two-way mirror and a door that led to another smaller room with a table and a few chairs. The man, whom I'd only seen on Alice's monitors, was sitting alone, his face pale, his hair sweaty, and his hands shaky as they toyed with a Styrofoam cup in front of him.

My eyes narrowed on the man. Felix was absolutely correct – the man was scared to death. His wide eyes kept glancing toward the window to his right, but he stayed seated. Petrovich placed a hand on the shoulder of an officer in uniform and spoke quickly before the man left the room, leaving just the four of us in front of that window.

Petrovich turned to Kurt. "Feel free to tell them what I'm saying. If I can't get anything out of him, I'll knock on this glass or come back out."

Edward and I stepped up to the window on either side of Kurt as Petrovich opened the door and stepped into the interrogation room. We stayed quiet, but the thick, heavy-accented Russian started immediately.

Kurt spoke softly, keeping us filled in. "Maslov…swears he doesn't know anything, keeps saying that he'll only talk to one person…you," he said, pointing to Edward. "Petrovich is trying the 'we can protect you if you're in trouble' angle, but it's not getting through. He's now telling him that if the Americans get wind of a public figure being taken in Moscow, that he could be arrested into custody as a terrorist threat – no laws, no rules, no rights." Kurt huffed a humorless laugh through his nose. "Maslov isn't budging." He turned to Edward. "If I had to guess, I'd say he knows he's safe inside this building. It's the nervous glance he keeps giving that window. He also knows that they can't really hold him on anything, because he's not on any of the security footage, he was nowhere near the hotel at the time of Carlisle's kidnapping, and he's been seen with your dad more than once, not to mention he works for him, so there's not much they can prove. He's innocent is what he keeps saying, but he won't say why he needs to see you. He says he'll wait however long it takes."

Edward's eyes took in the man at the table, his jaw clenching over and over. When he spoke, it was to me. "Sweetness, patch into Eleazar. Let him listen when I go in there. Kurt, you'll go with me just in case his English isn't up to fucking par, got me?"

"Got it," I stated, pushing my earpiece in. "El, I need you listening. Edward's about to go into the room."

"Copy that," El replied.

Kurt looked to Edward. "What are you gonna do?"

Edward sniffed once, his eyes growing harder and colder by the second. "I'm gonna talk to him, but I'm not sure he'll like it." He shrugged out of his leather coat, handing it to me, and started rolling up his sleeves. He glanced up when Petrovich stepped out of the room, closing the door behind him. "My turn," he stated, jerking a chin to Kurt to go on into the room.

"Your husband is military?" Petrovich asked me.

"Don't tell him shit, Bella," Eleazar advised in my ear softly. "Tell him retired, if you must. The police don't need to know exactly what Edward is, what any of you are. If they knew, they may detain him, especially with the weapons he flew into the country."

"Former Air Force," I stated, smiling innocently.

"What's he do?"

"My husband doesn't have to work," I told him, and it wasn't exactly a lie, but it wasn't totally honest, either. I turned my attention to the room, not giving the officer a chance to ask anything else.

The muscles in Edward's forearms flexed as he sat down at the table. Not a word had been spoken yet inside that room, but Maslov was eyeing Edward and Kurt nervously. The fact that no one had said anything made for tense moments as the clock clicked loudly on the wall. Kurt leaned casually against the very window that Sergei kept eyeing, but he was following Edward's lead on staying silent. It was a tactic I'd seen Carlisle and Edward use before when interrogating someone. Silence made people nervous, especially people that had shit to hide.

Edward leaned back in the chair, licking his lips and biting down hard on his bottom lip. He glanced Kurt's way once before speaking.

"I believe you wanted to see me," Edward said slowly.

The sound of English and an American accent seemed to cause Sergei to jolt a little. "You're Carlisle's son?"

"I am...though, I'm a bit different than my father. My patience is thinner, and my time is now far too fucking precious, so you'd better have a damn good excuse for calling me here when I could be out looking for him." The tone Edward used was low and laced with many, many unspoken threats, and Maslov started to sweat. "You'd better start talking, and it had better be fucking good, because it won't matter that you're sitting here in this police station. You won't always be safe in this room. Am I clear?"

Sergei nodded fervently, swallowing nervously. "It won't matter. Threaten all you wish, but as soon as they release me, I'm a dead man."

"Not my problem. Tell me about Carlisle Cullen, or I walk. You can take your chances with the police…and whoever it is that you keep looking for out that fucking window." Edward's calm demeanor was scarier than if he was yelling. And his remark about the window made Sergei shake, holding up his hands. But Edward stood up, his arms bracing on the metal table. "Tell me why I'm here."

"Your…your f-father, he's in trouble."

"Tell me something I don't fucking know, asshole!" Edward stated loudly, his temper starting to unravel.

"I know…wait!" Sergei begged. "He… There's a war coming," he said softly. "And your father, he unknowingly threw a wrench in the works."

"Keep going."

"He was just supposed to sell Norilsk! He was supposed to sell it and go away, but he didn't!" Sergei yelled.

"He said the buyer backed out," Edward countered, narrowing his eyes on the man.

"He did. The first buyer backed out."

"He also said that _you_ were the one that kept switching shit up, that _you_ insisted he come here. I swear to fucking God, if you set him up for this, I'll kill you once it's all over," Edward vowed with a slow shake of his head.

"I had no choice! They're threatening my family, the employees of the mine…the whole town is in danger! They said I had to bring him to Moscow."

"Who?" Edward sneered, leaning over the man. "Who's threatening you?"

"You…you…you have to understand, there's more than one!"

"I don't give a shit if the entire country is in on it, I _will_ find my father. If you know anything about him, then you know I'm not fucking lying," Edward stated softly, and the only way I heard him was over the earpiece. Petrovich heard nothing, but Edward continued with, "Who are they, Maslov? How many?"

"I don't know how many," Maslov whispered, shrugging a shoulder. "I swear. There's an entire army planted in Norilsk. But the who…the who…" He shook his head slowly. "He goes by Vladimir Stahl, but he wasn't born with that name – he took his mother's maiden name. He was born Vladimir Gunter."

My heart sank at the sound of that name.

"Aw, fuck me," Eleazar groaned over the earpieces at the same time Kurt and Edward locked gazes briefly before turning to look back at the window seemingly toward me. "That's Alexander Gunter's kid…the asshole that tried to blow up Chernobyl. Guess he's all grown up and pissed off now? Is that the thing?"

Rubbing my temple, I said nothing, my eyes on my husband as he refocused back to the conversation.

"Who else?" Edward finally asked. "You said more than one, so who the fuck else is out there?"

"Could be anyone," Sergei replied. "He offered a price on not only your father's capture, but for the return of what he says is his. There could be several people out for the same thing. If you want to get your father back, you have to give him what he wants."

"And what's that?" Edward sneered, his fists landing heavily onto the metal table.

"He wants his father's work back."

"His work?"

"Yes, he's got buyers for it," Sergei whispered, but his hands suddenly shot out, gripping my husband's shirt, "but you can't let him have it! Vladimir will not just sell them, but he'll fucking use them!"

"Fuck," Eleazar hissed over the line. "Edward, you need to know. Gunter...he was originally employed to make the bigger, better bomb, as in nuclear bomb. His son must've been well hidden, or he would've been on our watch list."

"Copy that," Edward sighed under his breath, his shoulders falling just a little. He looked like he was carrying the weight of the world on them at the moment. "And you just…lured my dad into all this shit," he accused, his voice sinking to a deeper, deadlier tone.

"I told you I didn't have a choice. Stahl's got men planted in my town, in my mine! They've threatened us all. Where we are, they can basically hold us captive. They've taken over!"

"That's actually very true. Their location makes them vulnerable," I sighed mainly to myself, but everyone heard me, including Edward, who shot a glance over his shoulder. "Edward, ask him who he reports to. He's scared shitless, so he's obviously got someone watching him."

"Who's your contact?" Edward asked him.

"I don't know. They call me…and never from the same number. They know who you are, they know what your father used to do. Stahl blames him for everything."

Kurt muttered quietly over his earpiece. "Someone get a message to Alice. Have her track this asshole's phone. Carlisle had to have called it, so we should have the number, right?"

"Ten-four," Emmett stated. "I got it."

"Who are you?" Petrovich asked, narrowing his eyes on me.

I smiled, but shook my head. "I'm Carlisle Cullen's goddaughter…and daughter-in-law. That's it."

"Oh shit, oh shit," Jasper suddenly piped up on the earpieces. "Edward, I'm not the only eyes up here. Get that asshole—"

"Edward, Kurt, down!" Mickey yelled over the line.

The window suddenly shattered right next to Kurt, causing him to hit the deck, Edward dove for cover, but Sergei Maslov was launched from his chair and into the corner of the room. His shoulder was bleeding fiercely.

"Emmett, Alec," Jasper ordered over the com link, "get your asses around the corner. One block over. Baseball cap, leather jacket. I don't have a shot! Go, go, go!"

Edward crawled to Maslov and began applying pressure to his wound. "Sniper!" he yelled to Petrovich when the officer flew through the door. "I'm okay. He needs an ambulance!"

Several officers jumped at Petrovich giving orders in Russian, but I walked into the room, only to stop when Edward pointed my way.

"Don't! Stay away from the fucking window," he commanded, turning back to Maslov. "Tell me who, Sergei."

"You have to stop them," the man begged in a whisper. "You can't let them…"

Maslov's pocket started to vibrate, a shrill ring filling the room. Edward fumbled for it, holding it up so Sergei could see.

"That's them," he whispered.

Edward swiped a bloody thumb across the screen, but the thick Russian accent that came out of the speaker didn't allow anyone to say anything.

"If you want Carlisle Cullen to live…you'll do exactly as I say."

**~oOo~**

**CARLISLE**

Footsteps echoed heavily down what sounded like a hallway just outside my door. I flinched when my door was suddenly slammed open. With the bag over my head, every sound, every smell, and every vibration beneath me was enhanced. They'd only taken it off once to threaten me, and another time to give me water. Each time, they'd sent in a man, wearing a ski mask, who didn't speak. Otherwise, my world stayed in darkness – cold, damp darkness.

"Get him up," the same voice from before ordered.

The Russian accent was thick, but the voice was one I didn't recognize from before they'd taken me. I'd tried and tried to go over everyone I knew, everyone I'd spoken to since coming to Moscow, but this voice didn't jog any memories, which led me to believe that this asshole was a puppet working for someone else.

The bag was snatched off my head, and I squinted at the light as I was tugged up into a wobbly standing position. Two large men gripped me, but I noted movement in the shadows, by the doorway. The sound of an engaging automatic weapon caused me to abandon any possible idea of fighting them. I could've taken the two at my sides, but I was weak, tired, and hungry, so there was no way I'd be able to fight off more than that.

With hands like vise grips on my biceps, the two men shifted, one bringing out a large military-style knife. I held still as they unbound my wrists from behind my back.

"Move. One wrong move, and we kill you. Understood?"

"Yeah," I sighed, grunting when I found myself shoved down into a hard metal chair.

Again, the knife made an appearance, and the zip-ties were removed from around my ankles and knees. I flexed my hands and shifted my legs, simply to get the blood flowing in them again. In front of me was a table, and on top, a plate with a sandwich.

"I'm sure you're used to expensive restaurants, Cullen, but this'll have to do. Eat. We can't have you fading away on us," the deep, raspy voice said from across the room. "I need you alive for at least another few days." His chuckle was foul and the only laugh heard.

I still couldn't see him, but I knew enough, had experienced enough shit in my life to know that if the captor showed his face to the prisoner, the odds were the prisoner wouldn't make it out alive. My captor could hide all he wanted. I wasn't sure it mattered in the grand scheme of things, because I was pretty sure my son was about to invade Russia without shame. I also wasn't so sure who these men should be afraid of more: my son, his crew, my wife, or my daughter-in-law. Those last two were a force of chaos all on their own, never mind what my son was capable of doing to these bastards.

That thought made me smirk a little and give my surroundings another slow gaze as I picked up my sandwich. Talking was useless. The motherfuckers they'd sent in earlier either didn't understand English, or they'd been told to ignore me. The main asshole behind curtain number one was calling the shots, so anything I said wasn't going to change a fucking thing. My best bet was to shut up, lull them into thinking I wasn't going to cause trouble, and keep my eyes fucking peeled for weaknesses around me. So far, there were none. They thought I was an overfed, lazy American, and I'd continue to allow them to think just that.

My food was tasteless, but I ate it nonetheless. It was better than nothing, and there was no telling when the next plate of food would come my way. I glanced up again when the door clanged open. Whispers met my ears, but I couldn't tell exactly what was said, and I couldn't see shit past the bright fucking light in my face.

"Finish up, Cullen. We've got work to do," the man ordered, and I tossed the last piece of bread into my mouth.

A bottle of water was set before me, and that was much more needed than anything. I chugged the fucking thing until it was empty. Wary of what would come next, I tensed when the two men moved back to my sides. My arms were held down, and one of them zip-tied them to the chair. Next, my legs were treated the same way. Instead of the bag being dropped over my head, a strip of duct tape was smashed to my mouth. My eyes narrowed as the talking fucking shadow started to pace on the other side of the light.

The pacing came to a stop, but I distinctly heard the click of a cell phone camera. Fuck me. It was a "proof of life" picture. I closed my eyes and tried to relax, but I reopened them when the sound of phone dialing met my ears. My Russian was limited, but I was pretty sure I caught the words "target" and "sniper." A few more words were exchanged, but the call was ended, only to have another number dialed. I had a sinking feeling that they were calling my son.

"If you want Carlisle Cullen to live…you'll do exactly as I say," the shadow said as soon as the phone stopped ringing.

"Motherfucker, you'd better be specific in what you ask for," Edward snapped over the line, "because if you aren't and something happens to him, then you'd better be prepared for the hell I will rain down on you."

I wanted to smile, but I couldn't. My eyes stayed locked on where the sound of the call was coming, but I knew Edward well enough – I knew _that crew_ well enough – to know that they hadn't flown out of Alaska blind. They were most likely armed to the teeth with not only weapons, but intelligence, equipment, and contacts. The latter would most assuredly have been my brother-in-law, Eleazar. Esme would've made fucking sure to drag him into this.

"Enough! I know what you are, and I know what you're capable of, so spare me the fucking threats. You'd better hope you're that good, because you're gonna need to be at your sharpest." The man continued to pace, but came to a standstill just behind the light. "By now that weasel Maslov should be dead. You're exactly where I want you, or you wouldn't be holding his phone."

"Well, you've got my attention, so tell me what it is that you want," Edward stated firmly.

"There's a high price to pay for your father's release. You'd better be as good as Carlisle says you are," he warned. "It's true what they say… The sins of the father are passed down to the son. Carlisle Cullen made a huge mistake several years ago. Now _you_ are going to make up for it."

"Hmm," Edward hummed over the line.

I tilted my head to try to understand what was going on in the background of the phone call, but it simply came out as noise.

"So…let me guess," my son continued in a slow, measured tone. "Alexander Gunter's death needs to be…avenged. Fan-fucking-tastic. So what do you need me for? You've got the man responsible."

I was so proud of Edward at that moment, I could've exploded. He knew exactly what he was asking, despite the nonchalance he was trying to push over the call.

My captor laughed, coming to a stop in the corner of the room. "Oh, but I _do_ need you. Your father isn't what he once was. Oh, he's still sharp, but I need you, my dear Edward. I need you to be faster than everybody else. I'm not stupid enough to think that you came to this country alone. No, no, no. In fact, I know you're not by yourself."

"Way to go," Edward cheered wryly. "Your sniper called you. Excellent. Now…again, I ask you…_what in the blue fuck do you want from me_?"

Another chuckle echoed in my prison cell, but stopped just as quickly as it started. "My dear boy, in order to get your father back, I need Alexander Gunter's work returned to me…just as it was, in its entirety. You're a smart man. I'm sure you'll figure it out. But I will warn you… Your time is limited, and you won't be the only one looking. I will give you a hint, though: go back to the beginning."

"I don't have time for this vague bullshit! And I'm not making a move until I have proof my father is still alive!" Edward yelled.

"When you hang up this phone, keep it. I doubt Maslov will need it anymore. You'll have your proof."

"Asshole, trust me when I tell you this… You do _not_ want to fuck with me. I promise you, I will kill you when all is said and done," my son vowed, and I knew he meant it.

My eyes locked onto my captor's shadow as he paced again. When he stopped, I could've sworn I saw a smile from the shadows.

"Mmmhm…You'd better get going. You'll hear from me in twenty-four hours. Good luck, Edward."

The call ended, the light was shut off, but my cell quickly emptied, the heavy metal door slamming home with a bang.

**~oOo~**

**A/N… Okay…everyone take a deep breath and relax for me. As you can see, Carlisle's still hangin' tough, Edward's beyond pissed, we've added Felix to the crew, and now we've got a ticking clock…and a bad guy's name. Just to remind you… Alexander Gunter was killed by Carlisle and his crew ages ago…it was a hired hit. It seems his son is back – Vladimir. For those of you that guessed this was Carlisle's past coming back to bite them in the ass, you are correct. For those that guessed that Edward was needed for something he could **_**do**_**, you are also correct. ;)**

**Just a reminder, I do tend to post pics as teasers. Chapter 8 has a stunning manipulation thanks to Beffers87 that will go up Monday or Tuesday. It's truly impressive. You can find those on Twitter and FB…and my blog the day of posting. All links are on my profile.**

**Next update will be Wednesday. Until then… Mooches, Deb. ;)**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N… I need to thank you guys for the reviews from the last chapter. I'm so glad you're liking the pace and the action in this one, because it's far from over. ;) **

**Most of you are now on the same page. I'll repeat what I said in the beginning…I'm not here to wreck Mercward and Sweetness's marriage. That's not what this is. In fact, I'm really happy to have them working **_**together**_** for once. LOL I won't say they'll be all sunshine and roses, but this is very stressful, so I'll let you get on with it. **

**This picks up right after the phone call…**

**~oOo~**

**Chapter 8**

**EDWARD**

"_You'd better get going. You'll hear from me in twenty-four hours. Good luck, Edward."_

The call ended, and I felt myself being jerked out of the way. One glance down at Maslov, and I had a sinking feeling he wasn't going to make it. The phone in my hand bleeped. A swipe of my thumb showed a picture, but I had to use my pants to clean the blood off the screen in order to see.

"We gotta go, Ed," Kurt urged in a hiss, grabbing my arm, but he froze at the sight of the picture. "Oh, shit."

It was my dad strapped to a fucking metal chair. His mouth was covered with a strip of duct tape, and he was dirty, pale, and pissed, but otherwise, he looked okay. As in, he looked alive. If I was to trust the time stamp, then the picture would've been taken less than ten minutes prior to that fucking phone call.

"Edward!" Bella's voice snapped me back to the here and now, my head spinning her way. "Baby, we gotta go! Now! Emmett and Alec are…" She stopped herself, her eyes flickering to the people around her.

"They're tracking the sniper," Kurt muttered right next to me, tapping his earpiece to remind me that I should've been listening. "That's what she's trying to tell you."

I nodded and gave another look to Maslov, who was now loaded up onto a gurney. Without thinking, I tugged an EMT out of the way, only to lean over the asshole.

"Who has him, Sergei?" I practically growled in his face. He was sweaty, weak, and losing a shit-ton of blood. "Tell me!"

"I don't know! It could be anyone. Stahl has many contacts, many supporters," he whispered, his eyes squeezing closed as he trembled in pain.

"Who else is looking for this shit?" I asked him gruffly, because by now, I kind of had an idea of what I was in for, and it didn't look good.

He shook his head profusely, his eyes closing. I was pulled away, the EMTs yelling at each other as they rolled Maslov out of the interrogation room.

"Edward, let's go!" Bella grunted, thrusting my jacket at me.

Seeing her determination knocked some sense back into me. I took my jacket and pulled it on, only to stow away Maslov's phone in the inside pocket. My girl did not need to fucking see my dad looking like that. At least, not at the moment. We had other shit to do.

I tapped my earpiece that I'd turned off when talking to that motherfucker holding my father, saying, "My crew, on me. I want that fucking sniper. And I want him alive, dammit! Update!"

"We're on him," Emmett panted.

"I'm picking you up. You'll see me when you come out to the corner," Felix stated. "El's following the boys."

"Ten-four," I replied.

Kurt and Bella took the lead inside the police station, winding us through the corridors we'd taken with Petrovich, who had disappeared when the shot had come through the window. My guess was he was in pursuit of the same fucking shooter.

We hit the sidewalk at almost a run, diving into the SUV that was waiting for us. Jasper and Mickey were already inside, and they shifted in order to let us in quickly. Felix punched the gas before Kurt had even closed the door.

"Alec, what's your location?" I ordered, only to be handed a tablet by Mickey.

"Here, pretty boy," she stated. "I had Igor pull up their GPS trackers. Em and Alec are on foot. They've stayed on his tail for a couple of blocks. He's winding them around, but so far, he doesn't seem to have a vehicle."

"Or if he does, then the boys aren't allowing him to get to it," Bella guessed, taking the tablet from me. "Felix, take the next left and then the next right."

"Ma'am," he replied instantly, following her direction.

Over her shoulder, I could see two dots – one yellow, which was Emmett, and one red, which was Alec – traveling slowly through the streets. They had a few blocks lead on us, and so far, they'd outrun the police, as well. No sirens were anywhere near us.

"Ed, take this," Jasper stated, checking a nine mil and handing it to me, along with a couple of clips. "You, too, Bellsy," he told her, doing the same for her. "Yours are in the other car. Can't have you unarmed."

"Thanks," we both stated.

Bella set hers in her lap, but I tucked mine at the small of my back in my waistband.

El's voice came over the earpieces. "We've got a problem," he warned. "This asshole just dove into a building. Looks like old apartments or some shit."

Bella's finger gently touched the screen, bringing the GPS map closer. "Felix, they're right up ahead. There!" she said, pointing to a fairly rundown building.

"Stairs, stairs!" Alec ordered, and he sounded pretty fucking winded, which wasn't a shock, considering how far they'd run.

Before Felix could pull to a stop, I was out of the car, calling out directions. "J, Kurt, take the building next door to the roof and cross over. Beat that motherfucker to the top, if that's the way he goes. Bella, Mickey, take the back entrance, if there is one. Felix, you're with me…front doors. Go, go, go!"

Felix skidded to a stop at the curb, but I was already out. The girls climbed out, taking off down the alleyway. I didn't like separating from Bella, but it was common knowledge that those two girls made a deadly team. They were fast on their feet, quick-witted, and watched each other's backs fiercely. Plus, together, they didn't look like what they truly were; they simply looked like two beautiful girls, not completely trained weapons that could kick a grown man's ass. And that was without a gun in their hands. I'm not sure I'd pair Bella with anyone else, other than myself.

Felix covered me as we slammed open the ragged-looking front door. I could hear footsteps overhead and in the stairwell, but I spoke low over the com link.

"Em, Alec…talk to me," I murmured.

"Third floor," Emmett panted. "I've lost sight."

"Asshole's on the fourth floor," Alec advised. "He did a one-eighty when he reached the roof."

"There's no one in this building," Emmett added. "He may be looking for an escape…or a place to hole up."

"El, watch the windows on the east side of the building," Felix chimed in.

"Already on it." Eleazar's voice was calm, but focused.

"Mickey, Bella, cover the first floor. Jasper, don't move from that roof. Em, stay where you are, and Alec, cover that fourth floor you're on. His ass is trapped in this building," I stated softly, pointing to the stairs and locking gazes with Felix.

Felix and I started for the second floor, and I gave a look behind me to see Bella in position at the front door. The building went silent. Not even my team made a sound over the com links. We moved silently up the stairs. I caught sight of Emmett on the third floor, but Alec was slowly and carefully searching out the fourth floor. With silent hand signals from the end of the hallway, he told me that he'd tracked the guy to the last door.

As quickly and quietly as we could, Felix and I joined him in front of the door. We were going to kick it in. I'd hoped we'd cornered the bastard. On my signal, Alec's boot met the rotten door, sending into the room, completely ripped from its hinges. We aimed our weapons inside just in time to see the asshole launch himself down what looked like a laundry chute or a dumb waiter. I wasn't quite sure.

Alec and I raced to the fucking hole in the wall, missing the guy by mere inches.

"Fuck! He's going down! Basement! Someone cover it," I ordered, trying to see where the guy landed. If my calculations were correct, then that left Mickey and Bella the first to get to the basement. Pointing toward the door, I faced Alec. "Go! Watch the girls' backs. Felix, cover the stairs.

Slipping my gun into the front of my pants, I grabbed a hold of the edge of the chute, lowering myself inside. I wasn't going to fall blindly like the sniper, just in case he'd stopped at another floor. Using the bricks, the next floors down, and a few rotten holes, I was able to make my way down to the third floor and the second, but there was a drop from the second floor to the basement, which looked dark below me.

"Shit," I hissed, letting go and bracing myself for a hard impact.

I was careful to land on my stronger leg, knowing if I tore my ligaments in my bad knee, I'd be shit out of luck. I pulled my weapon out as soon as I landed, smiling as I saw that the man we'd been chasing hadn't thought anything through. He'd landed roughly and was just now climbing to his feet. What he also didn't know was that two brunettes already had their weapons trained on his ass.

Nodding to the girls once, I stepped up silently behind the guy, wrapping my hand around his neck to cover his fucking mouth. It was all I could do not to snap his neck. He struggled in my arms until my other arm wrapped around his chest to grip his shoulder.

"I'll break your fucking neck, asshole. I swear to God," I warned him, but he continued to fight me.

The girls rushed in, and Mickey pointed her gun right between his eyes, pulling back the hammer with a loud, deliberate click. He froze.

"He doesn't speak English," Bella murmured. "Kurt or Eleazar, I need one of you down in the basement."

"Ten-four," Eleazar stated.

"Actually, all of you get down here," I ordered, giving the basement a cursory glance. "Mickey, secure his weapon. Bella, cover her. We're gonna need to get some answers from this asshole."

"Not here, you're not," Felix stated, pointing toward the small window, but what he was really saying was the sound of sirens was getting closer. He turned to Eleazar. "We have a safe house around here?"

"Yes," El answered, snatching up a piece of wire off the floor and binding the sniper's hands behind his back. "It's about fifteen minutes from here." He locked gazes with me. "It'll give you the…um, _privacy_ that you'll need to ask him what you need to know."

I smiled humorlessly, nodding once. "Good. Then tell him to stay fucking quiet and to cooperate, and he'll live through this shit," I told Eleazar, which he did with a fucking smile on his face.

"We gotta go," Felix warned as Emmett, Kurt, and Jasper appeared at the top of the basement stairs.

I grabbed the front of the guy's shirt, yanking him forward and shoving him toward the stairs. The fight had left him, even more so now that he was completely outnumbered and out-gunned. When we got up to the first floor landing, Emmett took control of the guy, which was pretty funny to watch, especially when he grinned, grabbed the guy's shoulder, and pistol whipped the man so hard, his face snapped to the left. Our sniper dropped to the floor with a heavy thud.

"Trunk of the car?" Em grunted as he tossed the guy over his shoulder like he hardly weighed a thing.

"Yeah," Eleazar agreed, pointing toward the back entrance of the building.

The BMW was parked in the alley, and the trunk lifted when El pushed the key fob. Emmett set the sniper in there, and Jasper appeared with another bit of wire, wrapping it tightly around the man's ankles, along with a strip of fabric to gag him. The asshole wasn't going anywhere.

"Good. That should keep him quiet until we get to where we're going," Jasper stated, turning to Eleazar. "We'll follow you."

"Ten-four," I replied. "No speeding. Just get the hell out of here. Stay on the radio in case we have to separate."

"Hooah," Jasper and Emmett grunted.

Bella, Alec, and I dove back into the car, where Alec handed Bella and me our personal weapons back. "What's the plan, Ed?"

"This guy's gonna answer some questions, and then…we're gonna call Alice. We need to know everything about Alexander Gunter we can get our fucking hands on," I stated, glaring out the window as Eleazar pulled out onto the street. "I have fucked-up feeling we won't like what she finds."

**~oOo~**

**BELLA**

Ignoring the sounds of yelling, gurgling, and cursing, I walked quickly to the back of the warehouse that Eleazar had brought us to. It was old, a little off the beaten path, and falling apart, not to mention a touch eerie as the sun started to set. He'd said it had once provided a safe extraction point in case CIA operatives needed to get the hell out of Moscow in a hurry. Now, they used it as a stopping point to save girls abducted for human trafficking – an underground railroad of sorts. And that fact had given Mickey and me the heebie-jeebies, especially since we knew for a fact that those types of kidnappings went on everywhere, even back home in the States.

Off in one corner were donated clothes, mainly for women, but at least Edward had been able to toss the shirt he'd been wearing at the police station, which had been stained in Maslov's blood. However, he hadn't yet put on the gray thermal I'd found for him. He was busy at the other end of the warehouse, trying to get the Russian-speaking sniper to give up some information…_any_ information.

As much as I understood _why_ Edward, Eleazar, and the rest of the boys were using the methods they were on the man, I couldn't stick around to witness it. It was, at its core, torture. It worked, and I wasn't exactly feeling sorry for the man, having seen Maslov shot down in cold blood, but my past, my history, made my stomach weak.

A glance up at the clock, and I grimaced at what I was about to do. Picking up the satellite phone, my finger rubbed over the button as I stood in a bare-essentials kitchen. It was late back in Alaska, but we were now desperate.

"Hang on, Bellsy," Mickey said, holding up Maslov's phone as Kurt followed behind her. "Eddie gave me this, said to be with you when I showed you."

"Actually, his words were: 'If it _fucking_ scares her, then you _fucking_ come and get me!'" Kurt grinned when I snickered a little.

"Yeah, that sounds like him," I said with a wink his way, but I held my hand out for the phone. "That bad?" I asked Mickey.

She grimaced. "I've seen worse," she murmured, shrugging a shoulder. "You okay to look? I can get pretty boy for you."

"No, don't bug him." I sighed and sat down at the table, bracing myself for the "proof of life" picture everyone but me had seen. Edward was merely protecting me, and I honestly hadn't been ready to see it until now.

My thumb swiped over the screen, and tears welled up in my eyes at the sight of Carlisle. He was, for all intents and purposes, my father. He loved me, loved my kids, and had been protective of me way before my own father had charged him with my safety. The picture on the screen in my hands didn't make me sick; it made me sad…and very fucking angry. No one should be strapped down to anything, much less a rusty old chair. However, the logical part of me could see that he was alive, that his dark blue eyes shined with hatred and determination, and that in spite of his pale skin and a few minor cuts and bruises, he wasn't too badly hurt. They weren't beating him or torturing him. And for the moment, I felt a touch better at having seen him.

I took a deep breath and let it out, handing the phone back to Mickey.

"You okay?" she asked, sitting next to me, and I nodded. "I can go get Edward. It's okay."

"No, I'm good," I stated truthfully. "What we need to do – and I hate that's late over there – is get the girls on the line. We need info like pronto."

"Do we need to wake them?" Kurt asked, setting up a couple of tablets with keyboards. "Igor, engage."

"_Yes, Mr. Kurt..."_

Mickey grinned, smacking my shoulder. "Hot damn! Let's do what we can, yeah?"

With a nod, I said, "Igor, I need all you can find me on Alexander Gunter." Pointing to Maslov's cell phone, I added, "And we need to scan that phone, mainly that picture, so that Alice can have it when she finally does get up, okay?"

Kurt nodded, reached into the bag at his feet, and pulled out a laptop, instantly syncing it up to the cell phone. He glanced back up, saying, "Okay. Done."

"Good. Now, back to Igor," I sighed, flinching at the sound of flesh meeting flesh echoing from the other end of the building. Thankfully, I couldn't hear what the low voices were saying.

"_Yes, Miss Bella, Alexander Gunter."_

Igor rattled off the man's date of birth, his birthplace, and where he went to school – all in Moscow. He'd won several awards in science and nuclear physics and had spoken in conferences all over the world. It was his genius that put him in the eye of the storm during the Cold War, however. He'd taken what everyone else had been doing and changed it up. He'd been the first to streamline the nuclear bomb, turning it into something that could be attached to not only submarines, but planes, helicopters, and tanks. It gave the Russians an advantage, if only for a little while…until everyone else caught up.

And that was the key, it seemed. The arms race had been nasty and full of backstabbing and secret selling. Gunter had been hired to take over the entire Chernobyl project. Underneath it all, he'd continued to research. By the time things had started to settle down between Russia and the U.S., that was when the man in question had decided to throw a wrench in it all. But I couldn't find a thing written about it, other than it was an accident – a power outage test run and not a deliberate thing.

"Huh," I huffed, rereading what Igor had brought up on my tablet. "Igor?"

"_Yes, Miss Bella…"_

"Give me…let's see, how do I put this?" I asked myself, rubbing my temple, but glanced between Mickey and Kurt, who were watching me curiously. "Give me the conspiracy theorists' version of Chernobyl." I turned to Mickey. "Everything I'm getting is the textbook version of what we all were told. Apparently, it was completely covered up, so we need to look outside the box."

A few articles popped up on my tablet. Scrolling through them, I shook my head. There were a few that guessed that the meltdown was done on purpose, there were a few that thought aliens – as in extraterrestrials – did it, and then there were the "end of the world" believers that claimed we would all die in a fiery hell.

I snorted, sighed, and pushed the tablet back.

"Okay, so humor me," Mickey piped up, grinning as she looked over my shoulder at picture of a bulbous-headed alien on my screen. "We know E.T. didn't do it, and really, we can take El's word that this guy did it on purpose. The motherfuckers that have Carlisle asked for this asshole's work back. Let's go from there." She paused when I nodded. "Igor, what happened to Alexander Gunter…_after_ Chernobyl?"

"_Alexander Gunter was relieved of his duties shortly after the reactor meltdown. He was held in a medical facility, along with several other residents and employees of Chernobyl, pending examination. Chernobyl was eventually abandoned, sealed, and still stands empty to this day. Gunter was found just outside St. __Petersburg, dead__ in his home. His laboratory and house had been burned to the ground seven years later."_

"Igor, what happened to the research Gunter was working on at Chernobyl?"I asked, leaning forward.

"_The uranium was distributed to various locations, one of them being MCC."_

"Oh, hell. Okay, Igor, what was he working on exactly?" Kurt asked, leaning closer so that the three of us were side by side.

"_A smaller, more compact missile, Mr. Kurt. The casings were never located."_

We went quiet for a moment, all three of us sitting back in our chairs.

"That's it," I sighed, staring at the screen without seeing it. "That's what Edward has to give them – the missiles _and_ the uranium – to get his dad back."

"The uranium is at MCC, or it could be found at a conversion medical facility in Canada. You know, where they're turning weapons-grade uranium into medical radiation," Kurt pointed out. "It's the missiles that we have to hunt down. That fucker at the police station said to go back to the beginning, but does that mean where the asshole started? Chernobyl? Or where his ass was found burned to a crisp?"

Snorting, I shrugged. We all jumped a little when the tablet bleeped.

Smiling, I touched the screen, bringing up a small screen filled with Alice's tired face. "Pixie, why are you up?"

"I couldn't sleep. Plus, I have Igor alerting me when you're accessing him," she stated with a yawn. "How's it going?" When all three of us scoffed, which caused her to smirk, she said, "I see this picture. Give me a few, and I'll verify its authenticity. And while I'm doing that, why don't you catch me up."

Kurt gave her the rundown, including what had happened at the police station, Maslov's shooting, and the sniper, who had currently gone quiet at the other end of the building. We tried our best to explain the conversation between Edward and the kidnappers.

"Maybe when he gets a chance, Edward can tell you exactly what they said," I suggested, "but it won't be right now. He's questioning the sniper."

Alice snorted, giving me a droll glare, before going back to her work. "Well, the picture's real. They took it about…ten minutes before the call, but sent it right after the call ended." She paused, frowning a little. "He looks…okay. Not great, but like he's hanging in there."

"Yeah," Mickey and I mumbled back.

"Okay, okay, okay," she chanted softly, seeming to shake off the sadness that came with seeing Carlisle all tied up. She typed furiously for a moment, only to turn back to the camera. "Now…I'd really like to go over what I found on Carlisle's laptop." Her nose wrinkled. "However, I think you should all be in the room."

"That bad?" I asked her, grimacing at her fearful glance. Turning to Kurt, I said, "See if at least Edward and Eleazar can step away."

"Gotcha," he replied, getting up from the table.

Looking back to Alice, I asked, "So nothing on the cell phone?"

"Nah, not really. It was the same calls I'd assumed he'd made: Maslov, the Moscow bank, Norilsk. Nothing struck me as out of the ordinary. But Maslov's phone is interesting. Thanks for syncing that up. It seems most of his calls were to and from the Norilsk area, a few Moscow numbers and, of course, his family. The call from the kidnappers, that last phone call? That was a throwaway phone with a Norilsk number."

I sighed and nodded. "Well, that doesn't surprise me. Maslov said there were enough men in Norilsk to threaten the entire town and the mine."

Alice grunted that she heard me, but went on typing. When footsteps approached, we all looked up to see Edward, Alec, and Eleazar walking with Kurt. Edward was still shirtless, wearing just his cargos, and he was sweaty, fierce, a little dirty, and pretty damn focused. Though, his gaze softened a little when he met my eyes.

He grabbed a chair, spun it around, and straddled it backwards, giving Alice a small smile and my temple a soft kiss. "Pixie, it's late there."

She grinned. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, well…my work is never done with you people!" she shot back.

Eleazar smirked and shook his head slowly. "What'cha got, Alice?"

"Carlisle's laptop," she stated, and the two tablets and the laptop Kurt had been working on immediately filled with information. "I've just sent you the files that I found on his hard drive. They had to have either been planted, like someone stuck a thumb drive in, or they piggybacked in on a few emails that he received prior to the trip. My guess is that it's the latter, but take a look at what I just sent you first, and then I'll tell you why I think that."

I picked up one of the tablets, flipping through what she'd sent. Edward's warmth surrounded me as he leaned in to look over my shoulder. He smelled like his usual woodsy smell, though there was a touch of a musty scent, too, like the building around us.

"Oh, hell," he murmured softly, reaching out to touch the screen. "Plans, blueprints, even…no, this can't be right. Alice, this was on his laptop?" he asked her.

"Yeah. Now, the reason I think it piggybacked in through an email was that the last file downloads on that computer came from an email from…guess who? Maslov. I think the guy was trying to ask for help from Carlisle. Do you recognize what those are?"

"Yeah," I answered her. "It's everything that we'd need to not only get into MCC, but to find the uranium. It's passcodes, inventory, and locations inside that combine."

"Exactly!" she chirped, typing a little more. "Now, look at this!"

Another window popped up on the tablet, but what it showed looked like scanned pages of someone's diary or a journal of some sort.

"Don't tell me," Kurt moaned, shaking his head. "These are Gunter's notes. Who the hell had these?"

"Maslov? That's my guess," Alice answered, shrugging a shoulder. "Where _he_ got them, there's no telling. But I want you to really look at those notes." She looked around, but her gaze landed seemingly on Edward. "Edward, what did the kidnappers say to you exactly?"

He dragged his gaze from the tablet in my hands to her, swallowing thickly. "That they wanted Alexander Gunter's work back. That I needed to go back to the beginning."

She nodded. "If that's the case, then you're far from being finished. According to those last few notes of Gunter's, he was working under the radar at Chernobyl. It follows through his termination, from there after the meltdown, to his own personal research outside of St. Petersburg. The last mention of those missile casings…he'd stashed them in Chernobyl, thinking he could eventually go back to get them, but the place was sealed off for years."

"Okay, okay…wait!" Mickey piped up. "How can we trust this journal thing? I mean, wasn't Gunter's place burned down? Like…didn't Carlisle's crew destroy the place? And in turn, all of his notes would be gone, right?"

Eleazar's head shot up to look her way. "Carlisle's crew merely took the hit. They didn't destroy the place. They wouldn't have burned the place, and they wouldn't have taken anything…at least, not that I'm aware of."

"Besides Garrett and Sam, who was on that mission with Carlisle?" I asked, fighting the funny feeling in my gut that I already knew the answer.

"Boris Zukov." Eleazar's voice echoed in the tiny kitchen.

I turned to look at Edward. "Tell me again what Garrett told you, Edward. You said they barely made it out of that lab when they took the hit on Gunter."

"That's all he told me, sweetness. Something about the lab was rigged to blow, but Sam disengaged the timer. If what El says is true, then no, my father didn't burn the place. In fact, they stopped it from happening," he answered, looking between Alice on the computer to Eleazar. "So…they're asking for Gunter's original work. That's these missiles and the uranium. And if Maslov was trying to help, then…"

"Then he handed Carlisle everything to get the job done. It's all there," Alice finished for him. "The question you have to ask yourself is _who_ gave it to Maslov? Because, as far as I can tell, the man is still clean."

"No, he's clean," Edward agreed. "He's just in some serious trouble."

"Wonder if the guy made it to the hospital," Kurt muttered, grimacing as he looked to me.

"I'll find out for you, but later," Alice promised us.

"Alice, they also told me that we wouldn't be the only ones looking for this stuff," Edward added, running a hand through his hair and rubbing his face. "Who else would want it?"

Her eyebrows shot up. "If you take the uranium and put it together with those missiles? Anyone. You could essentially take over a country with that much power. You look at any country at war – North Korea, the Middle East... – they're all looking for a leg up."

Edward nodded like he'd assumed as much. "This is…" He sighed deeply, standing up and starting to pace. "This is some fucked-up bullshit! Let's say we find what these assholes want in order to trade it for my dad, but then…we'll have these fucking bombs out there!"

"Okay, one issue at a time," Eleazar stated calmly. "Right now, Carlisle is the mission. Focus on that, and then we can deal with whatever after. Got me, kid?"

Edward nodded, looking to Alice. "What if…what if we find where they're holding my dad prior to taking off on the motherfucking wild goose chase for missiles and shit?"

Alice smiled evilly, nodding slowly. "Okay, okay, okay…I see what you're asking. Let's see. They're using Maslov's phone to talk to you, yeah?"

"Yeah," we all answered her.

"Kurt, sync that phone up again on the laptop," she ordered.

Kurt did as she asked, and we all waited as we watched her flip through the files on the phone. She moved, sorted, and added a few files of her own, grinning when it was all said and done.

"Now I can track the bastards!" she sang, wearing a smug little smile. "Knowing that they're using burner phones is the only drawback, _but_…" she urged, holding up a finger. "Now, I can track what towers or satellites they're pinging off of."

"Excellent," Kurt mumbled, unplugging the phone from the laptop and handing it over to Edward, who pocketed it quickly. "Narrow down the towers, then we can at least narrow down the area."

"I'll take it a step farther." Eleazar grinned, pulling out his own phone. He smiled when someone answered. "Shelly, it's Platt." He paused, chuckling lightly. "I need a few keywords added to the watch list, please. I need to know ASAP when they cross the air…in any language. Okay?" He nodded when he heard whatever answer he wanted to hear. "Perfect, thank you. They are as follows: Carlisle, Cullen, Alexander Gunter, Vladamir Gunter, Stahl, uranium-235, Norilsk, Krasnoyarsk, Mining and Chemical Combine, and Chernobyl." He stopped for a moment. "Thank you, Shelly."

He hung up the phone, but turned to us. "Listen, what I'm about to tell you doesn't leave this room, but…the CIA has a phone monitoring system. When certain words are spoken, it activates a tracking program. The call is immediately recorded, tracked, and we're alerted. An operative can request for specific words to be temporarily added to said list." He turned to Alice. "Will that help?"

"Oh hell, yes, yes, yes!" she chanted, her fingers a blur. "And I just _knew _Big Brother was fucking watching us!"

We all chuckled at her and turned to Edward, but it was me that asked, "Edward, what do you want us to do? Did you guys get anything from the sniper?"

He shook his head. "No, but I don't think he knows anything more than the job he was hired for. And even that was done anonymously. Felix, Jasper, and Emmett have taken care of him." When I grimaced, he snorted into a chuckle, bracing on my chair to kiss me. "Relax, love. They're simply setting it up for Petrovich to find him, the sniper weapon included. We didn't kill him."

Grinning, I shrugged a shoulder. "Okay, so nothing from him. These guys are gonna call you back tomorrow afternoon. Do we blindly assume that _if_ we gather all this shit, they'll just hand over Carlisle? Do we chance it?"

"I don't know," he replied softly. "And where do we start?"

"Chernobyl," Mickey, Kurt, Alice, and I all answered him.

"For real?" Emmett's voice boomed behind us. "Isn't that place like radiation hell?"

"No, Emmett," Alice sighed, but then beamed at the sight of Jasper. "Hi, handsome!"

He grinned all crooked and sweet, setting bags of food down onto the table. "Darlin'…miss you."

"You, too," she said. "But no, they have guided tours at Chernobyl now. I could get you into one, but you're watched fairly closely by the guides, and you're only allowed in certain sections." Her eyes glanced over all of us. "If you go, the radiation levels are no more than you receive microwaving your food, okay? But there's a reason there are certain sections still restricted. All the emergency and rescue vehicles are stored there, because they still give off too much. The concrete has absorbed a shit-ton of it, but apparently, soil, grass, and underground water sources still have some remaining. So…don't walk on the grass?" she suggested, sounding sarcastic, but it was a fair warning.

Edward sighed wearily, gripping his hair. He jerked a chin toward the computer, but locked gazes with Jasper. "Humor me. Scan through what Alice found. There are some blueprints and a journal. See if you can come up with anything, but I have a feeling these guys are right, that Chernobyl is where we need to be next. And we're down to…" He glanced at his watch, frowning. "We're down to less than twenty hours before these assholes call again. I'd like to be further along than we fucking are right now."

"You got it, Ed," he stated, and I stood up, giving him my chair. "We brought dinner, by the way," he stated, gesturing toward the bags.

"Thanks, Jazz," I said, turning to Edward. "Eat something, sweetheart. Give Jasper a chance to look that over, and then we'll talk plan."

"Okay," he conceded, taking one of the sandwiches Mickey was now passing out. He walked over to a ratty old sofa and fell down hard into it.

I took a sandwich for myself, grabbing a couple of sodas for us, and joined him. I didn't say anything for a few minutes. I was trying to give him calm and space, but our crew chatted softly over at the table. Only a few statements met my ears.

"If we go, then I think a nighttime raid…"

"We should fly over first, use the camera…"

"This Maslov risked his fucking life. I feel bad for him. I bet we could get some answers from the assholes that are in Norilsk."

"You know, for all the security that Carlisle said he had to pass, this MCC would be a piece of fucking cake to get in and out of…well, for us!"

I shook my head and tuned them out once I finished with my sandwich. I leaned into Edward, sighing when he wrapped an arm around me.

"You okay?" he asked me softly. "Did you see Dad?"

Gazing up at him, I nodded. "I did. He looks…better than I expected."

He kissed my forehead. "I hope he stays that way."

"Me, too." I rubbed absentmindedly at a smudge of dirt on his bare chest.

"This feels all wrong, sweetness," he sighed forlornly, shaking his head. When I set my chin on his shoulder to look up at him, I could see his eyes glazed over in thought. "It feels too big," he went on, only talking to me while the crew babbled at the table. "I don't know…I don't want to fuck up. I can't fail him, Bella. H-He w-wouldn't… H-He h-hasn't e-ever f-failed u-us, y-you kn-know?"

My eyes filled with tears, but I blinked them away. "Yeah, I know. We're doing our very best, baby."

"I know," he mumbled. "I sit and listen to this shit…_nuclear bombs_?" he asked, his voice rising just a little. "Fuck me, Bella… My dad would _not_ want us to trade this shit for him. Not at all!" he hissed, trying to keep this between us. "But I promised Esme…I swore I'd get him back, but to hand these guys fully functioning nuclear weapons? Oh my damn, he'd kick my ass for even considering it."

I couldn't help but grin a little at the mere thought of Carlisle's opinion of all that we were going through. "True, Edward. He wouldn't. Though…I'm pretty fucking sure that he'd play the game up to a point. Don't you think?"

Edward's eyes narrowed on me. "Bait and switch?"

"Maybe. All I know is…he's always told me that we were worth everything he went through – me with Miller, Bethy's kidnapping, you in China, even the whole Kyra thing. I'm pretty sure he's worth it, too, Edward."

He frowned and nodded. "Yeah," he said slowly, sounding so much like Sammy. He kissed my forehead. "I need to clean up, love."

"Okay. There's a shower room, baby. I'll bring you the shirt I found you," I told him, and then I sat and watched him throw away his garbage and walk out of the kitchen.

**~oOo~**

**A/N… For those that were worried about Edward melting down…yeah. He can be strong up to a point, but he's right…this is big stuff. **

**I need to thank Beffers87 for two stunning manips for this chapter. One was Sweetness and the other Mercward. Both can be found on FB and Twitter. ;) She's insanely talented. I need to thank DrivingEdward for working out the most minute details with me lately. Just ridiculously frustrating without help.**

**Okay, next posting will be Sunday. Until then… Mooches, Deb ;)**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N… You guys are getting awfully quiet. Am I losing you? ;) I hope not, we've got some good stuff coming…**

**Just another reminder that I've twisted real life history/events. Chernobyl (according to everything that I've read) was an accident. However, I'm not wrong when saying that they do give guided tours in certain and safe parts of that city. And it is **_**completely**_** deserted still to this day.**

**This picks up right where we left off last chapter, where Edward's feeling just a bit overwhelmed. I'll let you get to it…**

**~oOo~**

**Chapter 9**

**BELLA**

"Wasn't it Einstein that said, '_I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones_'?" Alice pondered over the video chat as I walked through the kitchen.

Jasper nodded absentmindedly as he continued to read everything she'd sent from Carlisle's laptop. "Yeah, well, darlin'… It was Patton that said, '_May God have mercy on my enemies because I won't._'" He looked to her on the screen and raised an eyebrow at her. "Einstein was addicted to opium. Patton was a genius in the Second World War."

She giggled. "Fair enough, Jazzy. And very true in this case, I guess."

I smiled at the two of them. Jasper had a love for history, and Alice never forgot any-damn-thing, so they tested each other occasionally to see what quotes fit whatever case we were currently working. It seemed to be an inside joke, kept things easy between them. But this time, they had the whole crew joining in.

"No, no…Patton's good, but Churchill fits this shit better," Alec piped up, putting down the tablet he was scrolling through. "'_You__ ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word. It is victory, victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory, however long and hard the road may be; for without victory, there is no survival._'"

Emmett glanced up at all of them, his eyes landing on me, only to drag to Edward as he walked to the other end of the warehouse.

His eyes were sad, solemn as he spoke. "_'War__ must be, while we defend our lives against a destroyer who would devour all; but I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they __defend_.'"

That shut them all up for a moment, and the truth of what he said came crashing down on me, making my eyes tear up a little. Emmett, while silly and easygoing, wasn't stupid, neither was he liking what we were doing. It was a means to an end. And the end was getting Edward's dad back. We were going to do whatever it took to do just that – nuclear bombs or not.

Jasper narrowed his eyes on Emmett. "Who the fuck said that?"

"Tolkien…you know, _Lord of the Rings_," Emmett said with a smug grin. "Technically, it was Faramir in _The Two Towers_, but whatever." He waved a hand, setting the duffle bag filled with weapons onto the kitchen counter.

Kurt snorted into a chuckle. "Shut up, _precious_," he taunted, rolling his eyes. "We've got to figure this shit out!"

A laugh escaped me at that, but I tossed away my garbage and then walked to the cars we had parked inside the warehouse. From the outside, you couldn't tell anyone was even there. We were protected by boarded-up windows and barely any other buildings near us. It made for a musty smell to the place, but it was safe.

We'd left most of our things in the chopper, which was why I'd had to hunt down a spare shirt for Edward. I'd tossed it onto the trunk of the car for when he was ready. Snatching it up, I made my way to the other end of the building, and I grimaced as I passed by the spot where they'd interrogated the sniper. Hell, I wasn't even sure they'd gotten his name. There was water everywhere, both in buckets and on the floor in puddles. The chair, ropes, and the rag they'd wrapped around his face were still there, as well. Waterboarding was a nasty way to get someone to talk, but it was effective.

The sounds from my crew faded a little, even though they were debating pretty loudly as to what steps we should take next. The shower room wasn't unlike the gym locker room from high school. Rows of showerheads lined the cracked and peeling walls, pipes weren't exactly hidden, and there was a touch of mildew along the tiles. It wasn't great, but at least there was hot water. The steam rose up around me as I stepped into the bathroom, but my heart shattered a little at the sight of my Edward – my strong, seemingly impervious Edward.

He was standing under the spray of the showerhead farthest from the door, his head bowed, his eyes closed, but his hands were opening and closing in a sign of pure stress and tension. And the slump of his shoulders told me all of this was weighing heavily on him. There was a beauty to him that almost always took my breath away. The muscles, the scar along his upper thigh that he received the day Sam died, the shadows that danced across his back and shoulders, the strong jawline that clenched over and over. To me, he was strength and comfort incarnate – a hero. But I could tell by his face that he wasn't feeling very strong.

"Edward," I called to him softly, and his gaze slowly opened to me, water coursing down his face. His eyes were so fucking green and tortured when they met mine, and the water dripping from his long eyelashes looked like tears. "Baby, you okay?" I asked him softly, setting the shirt down on top of his discarded clothes.

He said nothing, but reached up and shut off the water. Glancing around, I saw that he'd found a small towel, so I picked it up.

"C'mere," I said, waving him to me.

Again, he stayed quiet, and as much as I always loved the sight of my naked and wet husband, it was his face to which I gave all of my attention.

When he reached for the towel, I smirked, holding it away from him. "I got this!" I teased, draping it over his head to roughly dry his hair, only to continue to dry him all over – face, chest, stomach, back, and legs. When I was done, I tossed the towel around his neck, pulling him closer. "I love you, Edward," I vowed with a kiss to his lips. "And you're doing the best you can, given the circumstances. No matter what happens, no one can fault you for that. Hear me?"

Edward didn't answer me, but he moved so swiftly that I gasped in surprise. He snatched the towel from his neck and tossed it across the room. He reached for my shirt, yanking it off over my head. His eyes had been a sweet, worried green, but they darkened as he fumbled with my belt and pants. Knowing he needed this, knowing this was how Edward sometimes dealt with the really hard shit, I quickly caught up to his mood, kicking out of my shoes and socks.

Reaching back, I unhooked my bra, adding it to the pile of clothes, my eyes following Edward as he knelt before me. My skin broke out in goose bumps when his hands flattened down my sides and over my stomach, but he gripped my underwear and tugged them down.

He pulled me a stumbling step forward, dropping a rough kiss to my stomach and gentle one to the scar on my thigh, his eyes gazing up through long eyelashes. His entire expression screamed apologies, but also silently begged me at the same time.

I gave him a brief nod, and he stood before me, grabbing my waist, only to hoist me up. Immediately, my arms and legs locked around him. It was then that he paused, our lips barely touching, but he was so fucking hard that my eyes closed at the feel of him so close.

"Please," was all he whispered before kissing me absolutely stupid, and it only stopped when a hiss escaped me when he pressed me firmly against the door of the shower room.

My head fell back when he buried his cock inside me, my mouth hanging open. It had been a long time since he'd taken me this way, all rough, up against the wall, his hands and body controlling everything. He'd told me once when we'd been hiding from Royce King and Riley Miller – back when only _his touch_ could bring me peace – that he couldn't wait to take me like that, so that he could control every orgasm I had. I'd found out that he did, indeed, control everything in this position.

We knew we needed to stay quiet, but Edward wasn't gentle. He seemed to be channeling everything he was feeling, burying all his worry into me – something he'd always done. And at that very moment, as I was on the edge of coming, I understood what he'd meant back at the farm. My nightmare had made me reach for him, and he'd come willingly, telling me that he didn't know anything else but to take care of me. That went both ways, and I'd gladly give Edward what he needed in order to simply get through, to be able to focus.

His mouth was hot and harsh on my neck as soft grunts escaped me with every thrust of his hips, every squeeze of his hands.

"Come, baby…please. You gotta come. I'm not gonna last," he whispered into my ear, pulling back just enough for my hand to slip between us, though I was pretty sure it wouldn't take much to send me flying.

And it didn't. I came with an almost humorous squeak, burying it into his shoulder, my hands gripping his back shakily. Edward fell right behind me, one hand hitting the door beside my face, a long, slow, panting moan pushing out against my throat. He continued to hold me right there as I raked my fingers through his still-damp locks.

"You okay?" I whispered, kissing his jaw and pulling back to look at his handsome face.

He nodded, dropping his forehead to mine. Just when I thought he'd stay quiet, he spoke so very softly. "I-I d-don't w-want t-to f-fuck th-this u-up, s-sweetness," he admitted in a whisper. "Th-This i-is m-more th-than j-just a-a r-retrieval m-mission." He closed his eyes for a moment, and it seemed he was gathering his emotions together. "This… Bella, this is millions of lives on the line. Not just my dad's."

I placed my hands over his eyes. "Close your eyes, Edward. Clear your mind. You say your dad wouldn't want us doing this in trade for him. So put yourself in his place for just a second. What would _you_ want? Hmm? How would _he_ handle it if the situation was reversed?"

"I-I w-would w-want…" he sputtered, and I felt his brow furrow beneath my hands.

"Yeah?"

"I'd be worried…about you, the kids. I'd want you to be careful, but to be proactive, be smart."

"Okay," I said, dragging the word out and hoping he'd continue.

"I'd…" He swallowed nervously. "I wouldn't want these motherfuckers to win. I'd want you to…open up hell and bring every demon with you."

Grinning, I pulled my hands away from his eyes, only to cup either side of his stubbly face. "What else?"

"I'd want you to do what you had to, but in the end, they shouldn't get shit," he stated louder, with a little more oomph to it. "_We_ should change the rules before it's all over."

"There he is," I sighed to myself, almost sagging in relief. I kissed him roughly, squeezing his cheeks together. "Okay, so we'll do that, but I think Eleazar's right. I think we have to focus on one mission at a time. Your dad first…the nuclear shit second. Okay?"

"Priorities." He nodded once, but had yet to set me down. "Dad would want us focused on doing what these assholes want, only because it would allow them to reveal themselves and their location as we got closer."

"Chess strategy, Edward," I said, nodding a little. "They move…we move. They want what we can get them. They have what we'd kill for. I think they'll underestimate us in the long run."

Edward nodded. "Yes! Exactly! Get dressed, sweetness. We have a night raid to plan." He slipped me down gently to the floor, dropping a kiss to my lips. "And it'll be tricky as fuck, considering the place is completely deserted." He started to turn away, but stopped and cupped my chin. "Thank you, love."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm just here for your amusement, Edward," I teased him, squeaking when he popped my butt cheek. "Out! I need to clean up, too. And don't start planning without me."

He chuckled softly, shooting me a wink. "Yes, ma'am," he said, pulling up his pants and stepping out of the shower room.

**~oOo~**

"Everybody shut the fuck up!" Edward yelled, pulling out Maslov's phone as it rang shrilly inside the hotel room.

The whole lot of us clammed up, watching him take a deep breath before answering the call we'd been waiting on. We had a plan. We'd already moved locations to Kiev in the Ukraine, bringing us that much closer to Chernobyl. We'd pored over everything Alice had found on Carlisle's laptop and sent to us. We'd opted for Gunter's notes first, seeing as how we were closer to Chernobyl than MCC at the moment, not to mention MCC would be a dangerous and highly illegal operation. Chernobyl, while abandoned, was the easiest place to start. We were going for the missiles Gunter had left behind, and we hoped to hell and back that we'd find them.

Edward gave me a quick nod as I sent a rapid message to Alice to do her best to trace the call. Kurt quietly pulled up a video chat with her, setting the laptop in the middle of the paper-strewn dining table in our suite. Every other available surface in the side-by-side rooms were just about completely covered with weapons, equipment, and dark clothing. We were going in at night, going in silent, and taking what we needed.

"Cullen!" Edward barked, his upper lip twitching in pure hate and impatience, but his tell of nerves was the hand that raked through his hair. He was going to ask to speak to his dad.

"It's time to talk, Cullen," the rough Russian-accented voice rasped over the speakerphone.

"Hmm, no," Edward replied firmly. "You get nothing from me until I've spoken to my father. I won't do a fucking thing until I have more than a blurry-ass picture on a cell phone."

"I figured as much," he said with a hint of amusement to his tone, which made me narrow my eyes at the lit screen of the phone.

Russian was muffled in the background, but Kurt translated softly. "He's telling someone to get him up, take the tape off…" His voice trailed off, but his eyes widened when we all heard the threat.

"Don't try anything, Carlisle. Speak English. I'm well aware that you speak Spanish and French," the man muttered, and then there was a rustling over the line.

Edward locked gazes with Eleazar, who had coached him on what to say to his dad, but he simply nodded at my husband.

"Edward?" Carlisle sighed wearily.

"Dad, you okay?" Edward asked, starting normally.

"About as good as I can be, son. Tell me Esme's safe…"

Eleazar nodded again Edward's way, motioning with his hand. We needed to encourage Carlisle to use code.

"She's perfectly fine, Dad. She's with the kids, but they all want a _story_ from Poppy, Dad. What should I tell them?" Edward urged, using the code they'd discussed a long time ago.

Carlisle gasped a little, but didn't miss a beat. "Tell them the story about Goldilocks…"

"Yes!" Emmett hissed softly, punching the air and grinning.

We all leaned closer, waiting for what he'd say next.

"The porridge is too hot, Goldilocks fell asleep in the basement, and the bears will be home any minute after they _score_ some more food," he replied quickly.

Jasper grinned, writing down what Carlisle had meant.

_He's held at gunpoint. He's underground somewhere. He's counted more than 20 different men guarding him._

Edward nodded once. "I'll tell them, Dad. Hang in there. We'll get you—"

"Not so fast, Edward," the raspy voice interrupted. "Don't make promises you can't keep."

Edward chuckled humorlessly. "Asshole, even if I didn't know what the fuck you wanted, I'd still have your head on the end of a stick when this is all over. That _is_ a fucking promise."

"Do tell, son. And just what is it you think I want?"

"You said you wanted Alexander Gunter's work back. Did you just mean the uranium, or did you mean the missiles he's hidden, too?" Edward asked back snarkily, making sure that Eleazar was nodding in approval before going on. "Because, honestly, you'll save me a shit-ton of trouble if it's only the uranium."

The line went silent for a moment, and Eleazar grinned, whispering, "He wants you to fail, which means he wants to be able to kill Carlisle. Keep talking; he's underestimated your crew."

Edward smirked. "Am I right, jackass?"

"Impressive," the voice praised. "Maybe you'll prove yourself useful after all. You have four days to get me what I want. After that, I may just stop feeding your father, let him rot…or maybe I'll start removing appendages one at a time. We'll start with fingers and toes. When I call again, you'd better be prepared to trade."

The line went dead, but we all turned our attention to Alice, who was furiously typing away.

"Stolen Moscow number…using internet instead of cell towers…rerouted over…fuck, everywhere!" she muttered to herself, shaking her head. "Someone's smart. They're using a false IP address, pinging off…Moscow, Paris, New York, back to Dubai, Tokyo, Hong Kong…" She shook her head again and looked up. "I can't track the call. I can work on the routing shit they've done, but it'll take time. They're using a ghost IP, cloning it, so it's bouncing around everywhere."

Eleazar nodded, but looked up when his own cell rang. "Shelly, did you catch that for me?" he asked without any preamble. "Right…stolen Moscow number," he stated, shooting Alice a wink over the video chat. "Can you track it?" he asked, but shook his head. "Can you monitor that phone? No shit? Patch me through. I want to hear it." He set the phone down, putting the speakerphone on. "Apparently, that same phone is making another call."

We heard the ring before the line picked up, and we all listened intently.

The voice that answered had an accent, but it wasn't has heavy as Carlisle's captor. _"What__ news do you have for me?"_

"_Carlisle Cullen has proven most useful." _I recognized the voice of the man holding Carlisle.

"_I'm sure. He's quite clever, not to mention that he stole my father's work all those years ago. He __should never have come__ back to Moscow. However, I knew if we took him, his son and his old friends would step forward. They had better beat Stefan's men, or there'll be hell to pay."_

"_They're already two steps ahead."_

"_Don't be so sure."_

The call ended, and we stopped, looking to Eleazar as he finished up his call.

When he set the phone down, he looked to Alice. "Vladimir Stahl," he stated, and she nodded, her fingers flying over her keyboard. "Tell me what you've found out."

Alice hit enter with a flourish, sending window after window of information to our laptop and tablets. "According to official records, our friend Vlad was, indeed, Alexander Gunter's son. After Chernobyl, Gunter's wife, Celia, took him and left Alexander. Due to rumors and investigations relating to the reactor meltdown, Celia changed her last name back to Stahl, along with her son's. They never spoke to Alexander again."

"And Stefan? Does that name mean anything to you?" Edward asked, looking between Felix, Alec, and Eleazar.

"Your dad and I bought weapons from a man named George Stefan one time in Croatia," Alec murmured, shaking his head. "Could it be the same man?"

"Underground weapons dealer? Absolutely! Which would explain how they knew to take Carlisle in the first place," Eleazar replied. "What's the intel on him? American?"

Alec shrugged. "Not much, but yeah, he's American. He's exactly what you'd expect from someone like that. We needed untraceable weapons for a job, along with some C-4 and detonators. He was spot-on, professional, and delivered right when we needed him – no questions asked. Disappeared like a fart in the wind. It's what he does. He works with former military and some organized crime families, providing high-powered weapons that can't be tracked to _anyone_."

Eleazar nodded, sitting back in his chair. "Which means he doesn't give a rat's ass about the _who _or _what_, just simply about the pay at the end of the day."

Edward leaned against the dresser, crossing his arms and legs. "Which means it's possible we'll run into company along the way," he pondered aloud, his brow furrowing. "That fucker gave us four days…" His voice trailed off for a moment, looking to me, to Eleazar, and finally to Alice. "Alice…dig deep into Stahl. Find out if he owns anything, where his ass has worked, where he pays his bills…everything. Use his mother's name, too. It's possible he's trying to stay low, off the grid. If you find properties, we may find where they're keeping my dad."

"Yep, yep, yep." She nodded, but looked up. "Oh, and you should know that Sergei Maslov is in critical condition. They don't know if he'll make it."

No one said anything to that.

Gazing around at the rest of us, Edward said, "We're going to Chernobyl after nightfall. Preferably the witching hour. We'll go in dark and silent. Jasper, you've studied Gunter's notes, so I'm assuming you're sure of where the fuck we're headed. You still on that same line of thinking?"

"Yeah, there are two possible locations: where he worked and where he lived. They aren't close to each other. I still say we keep to the plan and split into two teams. It's gonna save us time and leave a team free to help the other, should we…run into trouble," Jasper explained with a confident tone.

"I agree," Edward grunted back with a single nod. "Good. Everyone get some rest. We'll head out at twenty-two hundred." He winked my way, wearing the sweet crooked grin I loved so much. "Ten o'clock, sweetness."

"I can tell military time, smartass!" I laughed, shaking my head.

"Just checkin'," he said with a chuckle. "We have a few hours, so eat, sleep, whatever, but be ready to roll out."

"Sir!" we all answered.

Once everyone had left to go to their own rooms, Edward sat down on the edge of the bed and looked up at me. "He sounded okay, right?"

"Yeah, he picked up quick on what you wanted," I told him, walking to him. He immediately pulled me between his legs, and I cupped his face. "He's so strong, baby. Like his son," I whispered.

Edward smiled a little. "I-I h-hope s-so," he sighed forlornly. "H-He j-just n-needs t-to h-hold o-on a-a f-few m-more d-days." He sneered, shaking his head back and forth slowly. "'Cause I swear to fucking God, I'll kill every last motherfucker that laid a finger on him."

Kissing his forehead, I said, "I know. And you won't be alone. Now…I want us to eat something and then get some rest. I need you sharp, handsome." I tapped his temple.

He nodded, grabbing the hotel phone. "Room service. We stay low," he commanded.

Smiling at his tone, I said, "Sir," with a salute, which made him finally crack into a wide grin before he started to order.

**~oOo~**

**EDWARD**

"Okay, this may be _the creepiest_ fucking place we've ever come," Mickey muttered over the com links. "Thanks, Eddie. Remind me not to let _you_ plan my next vacation, yeah?"

Grinning, I nodded, taking a long, slow gaze over empty streets. "Right. I'll remember that, wild child."

Off in the distance, there were lights and life at the coal power plant that provided replacement power to the old plant and the surrounding inhabitants. The streets of Chernobyl, however, were a ghost town. Trees were dead sticks, weeds grew up between cracks in the sidewalk and curbs, planters were overgrown and dead, and evidence of an active population was everywhere, completely covered in dust, debris, and garbage. Everything had been left behind the day they'd been evacuated. Mickey was right; this place was fucking creepy. I half-expected goddamn zombies to pop up out of the ground at any point.

"Alec, check in," I ordered quietly.

"We're almost on-point. I have the lab in sight," he replied. "No movement. Our path seems clear."

"Ten-four," I stated, turning to my team, which consisted of Mickey, Bella, and Felix. Alec was leading Eleazar, Emmett, Kurt, and Jasper to the other side of the abandoned town. "Eyes sharp. Watch your surroundings. If we're not the only players in this fucked-up game, then it's possible we'll have company. Felix, you take our six. Mickey, tell us where we're goin'."

Mickey pulled up the tablet, and Bella looked over her shoulder. Alice had tapped into a satellite in order to give us an advantage. A thermal map of the entire area showed up on the small screen. The most concentrated images of color were outside the perimeter of where we were standing. Alec's team could be seen working their way through the town, using buildings for cover.

With a swipe of a finger, the screen changed to a much more detailed map. Mickey pointed to the screen, saying, "We need to head this way. That apartment building straight ahead, see it? It's the taller one about two blocks up."

"Good. We go in quickly and silently. Watch your step – sidewalks and streets only, no grass," I ordered, and then turned to Bella. "Sweetness, I'd like you right behind me."

She nodded, taking the tablet from Mickey and stowing it away in her bag. She hadn't spoken much since we'd arrived to Chernobyl. I could tell she was nervous. This type of mission wasn't what she was used to, and I understood that, since she'd only been on a few of these with me.

"You okay?" I asked her, and she nodded. "Constant communication," I reminded her. "You see something, speak up."

"Got it," she said, pointing. "Lead the way."

The wind howled through broken windows as we stayed as close to the walls of buildings as we could. Everything was a dull, dusty gray, despite the fact that it was almost three o'clock in the morning. The air was stale and a touch chilly, though I wasn't so sure that wasn't due to the eerie silence, because more than once had the hairs on my arms stood on end. The place was simply soulless. Life had come to a complete and utter standstill. Toys and broken cribs lined what looked like a daycare. The amusement park stood dark and haunted, with bumper cars parked randomly in their fenced area, but the Ferris wheel held sentry over everything, all rusty and shit. Every step or two, we'd pass a gas mask, a child's shoe, or even a gurney.

"Fuck," Felix muttered as we took the next turn. "It's like the end of the world here."

"It was for some people," Bella whispered back, sounding morose, but she was right.

"You know," Mickey started with a deep sigh, "you grow up learning all this history shit, only to find out it wasn't the truth. It makes you wonder just how many other major events throughout time were covered up."

Felix chuckled. "Trust me, knowing the truth isn't any better. It destroys your sense of wonder."

"Poor fuckin' Santa Claus," Mickey chortled. "Don't tell me shit, Felix. I never want to know if Elvis was really assassinated instead of overdosing, or if Area 51 really does have aliens underground in a research lab. I don't wanna know how many presidents got head in the Oval Office besides fucking Clinton. Nope. I am blissfully ignorant."

"Duly noted," he replied. "But you're right…Clinton wasn't the only one." He chuckled when she turned and punched his shoulder.

"Oh, hell," Bella said with a small hint of a laugh.

I shook my head at the conversation, but kept a sweeping gaze out in front of me and to my sides. So far, all was dark and quiet. I held a hand up at the last corner we needed to take. My eyes raked up the apartment building. Every window was gone, fallen trees were blocking the front, and from my count, there were nine stories.

Before we crossed the street and went inside that motherfucker, I turned to Bella. "Talk to me, sweetness. Where are we going inside there?"

She pulled out the tablet, and instead of looking at one of the maps, she opened Gunter's notes. "These missile casings are about as big as a loaf of bread…each. He notes that he made three, but who's to say they're still there? Anyway, something that size could either be stored in a wall, cabinet, or closet of his home, which is the top floor, or…it's possible it's in the basement storage. They weren't active missiles, obviously, considering the uranium is elsewhere, but Jasper and I think they'd be stored in some sort of crate…just for simplicity and to hide them."

That was the debate and the reason behind sending two teams separately into this desolate fucking hole. As detailed as Gunter was in his notes, he was iffy when it came to where he'd stored them – and that shit was most likely done on purpose. His lab or his home were the two places we'd decided to check. If they were anywhere near the reactor that had malfunctioned, then we were totally shit out of luck. Parts of that silo had been destroyed.

"Give me the satellite images," I told her.

She flipped to the dark map, our glowing location shining brightly in the bottom left corner. She zoomed out, giving a wider view, but so far, we were all alone. And that shit bugged my ass. It was _too_ fucking quiet. I sure as hell didn't like it.

I sniffed once and nodded. "Now, show me Alec's location," I told her.

She dragged her finger over the screen pulling a cluster of colored forms into view. I could hear them over the earpieces, quietly giving each other direction. They were currently working their way through a large laboratory, the five of them using two-by-two formation behind when moving through each hallway and entering a room, with Emmett most likely tailing everyone else. They were also the only heat source in the area.

"Okay," I grunted. "On me. We take the basement first and then make our way up top. Bella, you're with me. Felix, Mickey, watch our six. In three, two, one…"

I gave a quick glance up the street and back to the building before taking off low and silent. My back was planted against the wall, and Bella knelt low, her weapon in front of her as she assessed inside the first floor lobby. There was no need to look for a damn door. We could step right in through what looked like it had been large plate glass windows.

Stepping into the building was like stepping back in time, but with everything completely vacant. There was garbage all over the floor, and once we were out of view of the street, flashlights were needed. Felix and Mickey found the stairs to the basement, taking the lead this time, leaving Bella and me to watch our backs. I still couldn't shake the unease I had that we were all alone in there.

The basement was chaos. It obviously housed the water heater, electrical boxes, and gas sources, but there wasn't anything down there that stood out as far as storage went. We shuffled around a few things, but came up empty-handed.

When we reached the landing of the first floor again, Alec's voice piped in over the com link.

"Kid, we're comin' up empty here. This place has been stripped bare, so if they were here, then they're gone now. What about you?" he asked.

"The basement was negative. We're heading to the apartment now," I told him, eyeing the stairs warily. They looked ragged and creaky, which made me worry about taking them nine flights up.

"Copy that. We'll give another sweep, then we'll me you at the van."

"Roger that. Watch your asses out there, yeah?" I asked, grimacing when a step on the way to the second floor was split in two places. Without thinking, I simply picked Bella up and set her on the next one. When she gave me a smile, I shrugged. "Last thing we need is a broken fucking leg, sweetness."

Someone snorted over the line at that, but Alec answered me affirmatively.

It felt like forty forevers to get to the top fucking floor. The smell of an old, closed-up building was starting to get to me. It was stale, musty, and filled with dust flying everywhere whenever we took a step.

"This one," Bella stated, pointing to the door at the head of the steps. Using the muzzle of her gun, she pushed the door open slowly. The apartment was fucked up like the rest of the damn building. The furniture was broken or turned over, the signs of life long gone.

"Felix, Mickey, help me clear the place, and then we'll give it a sweep."

"Yup," Mickey stated, stepping lightly and quickly into the living room, only to take the hallway.

Felix took the kitchen, and I gave the bedrooms a sweep. I shook my head at the sight of a little boy's room. It made my heart hurt, made me miss my kids for a brief second, until I put two and two together. The little boy that had once slept in that room could quite possibly be the asshole holding my dad. And my anger rose to the surface.

"Fucker," I muttered, shaking my head. "Bedrooms clear."

"Clear," Mickey stated.

"Clear." Felix stepped into the hallway. "Okay, let's tear this place apart."

Bella started in the living room, pulling furniture away from walls, checking vents, and kicking rugs away to see if there were any loose floorboards. Mickey took the bedrooms and bathrooms, while Felix and I ransacked the kitchen.

There weren't any false panels in any of the cabinets. The appliances were already pulled away from the walls, and the floor was that old-ass vinyl shit, so no loose floorboards there. Bella looked frustrated as hell in the living room, and Felix and I were just about to head down the hallway, when Mickey called out over the com links.

"Well, holy fuckin' hell," she gasped. "Bells, boys, I think we have 'em!"

All of us raced down the hall to find her in what I was now calling Vladimir's room. She was bent over in the closet, pulling away a false panel. Carefully, she tugged on something, grunting a little.

"Move, wild child," I ordered, nodding to Felix.

We stepped past her, and Felix whistled soft and low. "Well, look at that," he said softly, shaking his head. "Military missile box and everything. This guy was special."

Felix was completely right. It was military green, covered in dust, and the yellow Russian symbols were faded almost completely – if they hadn't been removed on purpose from the get-go.

Between the two of us, we managed to pull it from its hiding place and set it down in the middle of the room. All of us just stared at it for a second. Mickey knelt down, grinning at the ancient padlock.

"Tsk, tsk," she chided, shaking her head. "This will be _too_ easy."

She pulled her kit out from the side pocket of her cargos and removed two small, thin tools. In less than sixty seconds, she was tossing the padlock onto the floor. She lifted the lid, and I shook my head. Inside the crate, which was about the size of a large dog carrier, were three sleek, steel-colored missile casings. All three were disassembled, looking ready for arming.

"This fucker was way ahead of his time. Those can't be any bigger than say…a Stinger missile," I pointed out.

"No shit. The bad boy they dropped on Japan during WWII was as big as my bedroom," Mickey stated. "These fuckers could be shipped any-damn-where…or smuggled."

"That was probably his goal," Felix surmised.

"I say we take them just like this, crate and all," Bella suggested, looking up at me as she knelt beside Mickey.

"Yeah, definitely. Felix and I can carry it. You girls can handle keeping watch on the way back," I stated. "Alec, mission accomplished. Meet us back at the van. Copy?"

"Ten-four," Alec replied, giving his team the order to move out and to double-time it. "Go dark, go silent," he stated.

The crate wasn't exactly light, but it wasn't too heavy to lug back down to the lobby. Before stepping foot back outside, flashlights were extinguished and we went dark. I didn't want to take any chances. We backtracked the way we'd come, following the edges of the buildings and checking every corner before taking them blindly.

The van was parked a few miles outside of the main part of Chernobyl's town center. We'd hidden it in a wooded area and had proceeded in on foot, scaling the fence. Emmett and Eleazar were waiting for us, their weapons at the ready, their eyes sharp. But when Felix and I reached them, they took the crate from us.

"Let's get the fuck outta here, okay? This place is creeping me the fuck out," Emmett grunted, taking the weight of the whole damn crate and lugging it to the open back of the utility van we'd bought with cash in Kiev. It was a rusty, old, faded bastard, but everyone fit inside, even with the crate.

I was just about to load everyone in and get the hell out of there, when Alec was suddenly shoved hard from the side of the van.

He fell with a grunt, but stayed on his knees, his hands behind his head, followed by Kurt and Jasper. His eyes were black and pissed the fuck off, but no one had a chance to say a word before we were surrounded by four motherfuckers with automatic rifles aimed our way.

Russian and pissed-off American English was yelled at everyone. I recognized one of the assholes from the security footage at my dad's hotel, but my first priority was – and always would be – Bella. Carefully, my eyes locked on to the four guns aimed our way, I pulled her behind me.

Alec's team already had been stripped of their weapons, but my team stared back unabashedly in a fucking standoff.

"Drop them!" the guy with the beard ordered.

"Not gonna fucking happen," I snapped back, shaking my head.

He aimed his weapon toward the back of Alec's head, and my old friend's face never even flinched. He gazed up at me unwavering as he just barely shook his head to tell me not to give in.

Mickey, Bella, and Felix all still had their weapons trained on the men, along with Eleazar and Emmett. The problem was they had gotten the drop on us, and they were in a position to kill the three men kneeling in front of me.

My nostrils flared in pure fucking hatred. Internally, I was vowing to kill every last of these assholes before I went home. I was starting to make a mental list.

"Drop them," I ordered, glancing at my crew on my left and right. "Put 'em down."

I tossed my Glock to the ground, smirking when it landed between me and Alec. Everyone else did the same.

The guy with the beard seemed to be in charge, and he held out his hand. "Keys to the van."

"Got me," Emmett taunted, though his face was lethal at the moment. "I must've lost them. Jazz, you got 'em?"

"Nah, I thought Alec was driving," Jasper stated, and even with a gun pointed to his head, he wasn't going down easy.

"Not me," Alec said, giving a look not to me, but just behind me. "I was pretty sure _Bellissima _had the keys in that backpack of hers."

"Well, then these assholes are fucking outta luck," I warned. "'Cause if you touch her, I'll kill you all."

I felt Bella move closer to me. Beard Guy snatched up Kurt by his hair, pointing a gun to his head.

"Keys, or this one's brains meet the side of this truck," he ordered, shrugging a shoulder. "Your call."

"Fuck," I hissed to myself, my hands opening and closing. I had the goddamn keys, but I didn't want our asses to not only lose what we'd come here for, and I also didn't need us fucking stranded in this deserted hell hole.

Bella's hand met my back, and I was just about to give in, when the guy holding the gun to Jasper's head collapsed to the ground, his head practically gone. And before I could blink, two more guys met the same fate, leaving Beard Guy all alone.

"Sniper!" Mickey yelled, pulling Bella. "Down!"

Emmett, not one to miss his chance, dove for the guy, tugging Kurt out of the way. Just as he reached for the Beard Guy's weapon, the man's head was split wide open.

"Who the fuck?" Jasper started to ask, but I interrupted him.

"I figured we'd get company eventually. Stash those bodies in the woods. Move it!" I commanded, not giving a fuck who followed that order. I just wanted it fucking done. "The birds and animals and shit can have these bastards."

"The shots came from that ridge," Jasper muttered to me while Emmett and Felix dumped the first two bodies a few feet into the woods.

"I know," I replied, turning to Bella. "You and Mick get in the van and stay fucking low."

"Okay," my girl replied, pulling Mickey behind her.

Turning back to Jasper, I said, "Watch that area. If anyone approaches, I want answers. Shoot to maim."

"Copy that," Jasper drawled, stepping away from the van and readying his weapon. Just as the last body was moved, he stated, "Ed? We don't have to shoot. The fucker is surrendering. Look."

My head spun to the direction he was glaring. The man who was walking our way was obviously older, his sniper rifle held in the air as he walked with a slight limp.

"Which one of you is Edward Cullen?" the guy asked, stepping into the middle of eight weapons trained on him, which included the two girls from the open back doors of the van.

"Motherfucker." I sighed wearily. "I'm tired of everyone knowing my goddamn name," I snarled, pulling out my Glock and walking straight to the asshole…who started to chuckle.

"You _must _Carlisle's son," he stated through his light laugh. "Don't kill me. I'm here to help you."

"And just who the _fuck_ are you?" I sneered in his face, flipping the safety off my gun. "And why shouldn't I just pull the trigger right now?"

He grinned. "Because your dad would be pissed. I'm Boris Zukov."

**~oOo~**

**A/N… I was informed this was a cruel cliffie, but it was the best place to end it. You'll find out all about this guy on Wednesday. ;) **

**So now you know…the reason Edward and crew are needed is because they need to be faster than the guys already out there. And our smart crew will put all the pieces together soon.**

**Okay, just a reminder… I'm on FB and Twitter where I post pic teases regularly. There's also the Sarge's Girls FB page. Friend me on FB and let me know if you want to be added. Due to some spammers, JenRar and I had to make the group secret. ;)**

**Okay, I'll see you guys again on Wednesday. What do you think? Is Boris a good guy? Or bad? ;) Until Wednesday… Mooches, Deb ;)**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N… You guys were pretty split down the middle on Boris, but most of you were just simply hoping he was there to help. ;) For those that don't remember him, he's Carlisle's Russian mercenary friend that disappeared earlier in the story. His disappearance was the reason Carlisle agreed to get out of Moscow, but as we know that didn't happen.**

**I know you're dying to find out about Boris, so I won't keep you here. Go on…**

**~oOo~**

**Chapter 10**

**BELLA**

"Because your dad would be pissed. I'm Boris Zukov."

My breath caught for a second at the sound of that name. He'd been the complete unknown in this whole thing, yet an important missing piece so far. We couldn't even find pictures of him, much less find him after he'd disappeared from MCC.

"Oh my damn, pretty boy may just pull the trigger, Bells," Mickey whispered to me, our weapons still trained on the stranger surrounded by the entire lot of us.

As she murmured that only to me, my heart clenched when Edward reached up to his Glock and chambered a round. The click-click-click was loud in the silence around us, and it made me jump into action. I hopped down from the back of the van, rushing to the older gentleman that was still fucking grinning.

"Edward, wait," I stated softly, looking to the man with my very angry, very ready to pull the damn trigger husband in front of him. "If you're Boris, who were they?" I asked, jerking a thumb behind me toward the woods where the four bodies had been stashed.

"George Stefan's men most likely," he guessed, his brow furrowing. "Too bad George wasn't with them. That would've been really helpful."

I gave a quick glance at Edward, seeing his anger, but a little bit of doubt, as well. Turning back to the man claiming to be Carlisle's old friend, I reached up and took the sniper rifle out of his still-raised hands. Blindly, I passed it behind me to Jasper, who took it.

"You have to understand, we can't trust you at your word," I told Boris, then to Emmett, I ordered, "Pat him down," stepping back a little. Emmett found his wallet, a set of keys, and a knife in his pockets, handing them to me. The ID inside was for Boris Zukov, but considering I had my own fake identification in my cargos, I didn't trust that, either. "Not buying it yet," I told him, holding up his wallet.

"I wouldn't expect you to," he countered, looking to me. "But my God, you must be Bella."

I had to move quickly, placing a hand in the middle of Edward's chest and pushing Boris back a little. He stumbled a step or two, but maintained his balance, especially when it was Emmett's broad chest he fell against.

"Wrong thing to say," I sighed mainly to myself, but Boris heard me, glancing at me just before Edward spoke.

"Asshole, you'd better start talking, or you'll join those bastards in the woods," he threatened.

"I just saved you from those bastards," Boris argued, but flinched when I pointed a finger at him.

"And we're grateful, truly, but if you don't start talking – like how you know my name – then I may just get out of his way," I told him, jerking a thumb behind me toward Edward. I knew my husband well enough that he was probably grinning evilly behind me at that threat.

"Okay, okay," Boris groaned, shaking his head. "I am Boris Zukov. I'm fifty-six, born in St. Petersburg, Russia. I first met Carlisle Cullen in the Gulf War. We've worked together for about twenty-five years, even after we both left our respective militaries. I was at… Edward, I attended your mother's funeral." I frowned at the noted sadness that came through his voice, even more when he said the next thing. "Carlisle showed me pictures. You look _just like her_."

I glanced to Edward, who seemed to be a bit shocked, but I turned back to Boris. "And me…how do you know me?"

He grinned. "Because Carlisle is so very proud of his goddaughter…now daughter-in-law. And don't get me started on those grandchildren of his. He speaks of the four of you endlessly…that is, when we talked last." He sighed, the smile slipping off his face. "You have no reason to trust me, but I promise you, I'm here to help." He jerked his chin toward the woods, but looked directly at my husband. "I owe your father a life-debt. He saved my ass twice. It's time to repay him."

"And just how did you know we'd be here?" Edward asked, but he at least sounded like he was willing to listen.

Boris grimaced a little. "Sergei Maslov received Alexander Gunter's journal…and the plans to the Mining and Chemical Combine in Krasnoyarsk…from me."

That statement made everyone go rigid.

"Why is that?" Edward snapped. "You should know it got his ass shot."

"He's dead?" Boris gasped, his mouth hanging open and his eyes widening.

"Not yet," Emmett rumbled from behind him. "Damn well came close, though."

"I fucking told him to watch his ass," he murmured to himself, but looked back to Edward. "Sergei…he's in trouble. His whole town is in trouble. I went to Norilsk weeks ago at Carlisle's request. He asked me to look around, speak to Sergei on his behalf, and to look into the man that wanted to buy the mine."

"I thought the buyer backed out," I asked, narrowing my eyes on the man.

"He did, eventually," Boris concurred, "but only when we started digging into his past. Carlisle wasn't gonna sell to just anyone. He wanted to make sure that if he did release it, it was going to someone that would run it correctly, maybe even clean it up."

"What happened?" I asked.

"When I visited Norilsk, I saw the man that wanted to buy the mine. Yury Spektor. He's Sergei's second-in-command there. I didn't trust him, because he seemed to have a little bit more command of the men around him than Maslov did. And that's when I knew Maslov was in trouble. So I traced Yury to Krasnoyarsk."

"How are they connected?" I asked, my brow wrinkling. "We tried to tie MCC and Norilsk together, but we didn't find anyone that showed up at both mines."

"You wouldn't," he stated, shaking his head. "Yury would've only showed up at one of the mines. In Krasnoyarsk, he was paid cash for his services."

"What fucking services?" Edward asked.

"He was paid to transport uranium out of the country. It supposedly went to Canada, and most of it did, but not all. He was smuggling it, fixing the numbers, and hiding it inside Norilsk," he stated. "For George Stefan."

"Okay, this asshole's name keeps popping up. I wanna know what the fuck he has to do with all of this," Emmett spoke up.

"And his connection to Vladimir Stahl or Gunter…or what-the-fuck-ever that asshole's last name is," Edward added, sounding a heartbeat away from losing his patience.

Boris's eyes widened. "You know more than I thought. Vladimir and Stefan are in a race to get Alexander Gunter's work back. They both want it. See, Stahl had originally hired Stefan to bring him his father's work, but Stefan only sells to the highest bidder, and he's got someone willing to pay way more than Stahl. That's why he took Carlisle, to blackmail you into moving faster than Stefan." He grimaced before saying, "Stahl is using you guys to beat Stefan to the punch."

"How do you know this?" I asked.

Boris shrugged. "You pay the right amount to the right people, ask the right questions, you find out who's screwing whom."

Edward hissed a string of curses, finally lowering his weapon from Boris's face. "And just how did Stahl know about me? About my crew?" he asked, waving his hand around him.

"Maslov, probably," Boris answered, shrugging a shoulder. "He knew of your dad's former career. Or it's possible he found out who was hired to take out his father."

"And just how does Gunter's son fit into Norilsk?" I asked, finding myself getting angry.

Boris looked a touch guilty, but he locked gazes with me and then Edward. "The man that hired us all those years ago to take out Gunter was found tortured in his own home. If Stahl did that, then it would've led him straight to Norilsk as soon as he researched Carlisle's name."

"And you just let them take Carlisle in order to for him to do all of this?" I snapped, my hands balling up into fists.

Boris shook his head vehemently. "I didn't have time to relay all of this to Carlisle. Once I knew he was already in Moscow, I was deep inside MCC – as you call it. I was trying to get information to give to Carlisle. He needed to know who his potential buyer was associating with, not to mention how they're practically holding Norilsk hostage."

"Is that why you disappeared?" I asked him. "Because Carlisle had no idea you'd vanished."

"I got the hell out of there when Maslov called me, begging me to help him. He was about to have a meeting with Carlisle, but he thought that he was being watched. I emailed him everything to sneak to your dad. That was two days before they took him. It was the only way we could do it in order not to set off alarms," he explained. "What I want to know is why your dad came over here anyway? He normally wouldn't."

Edward shook his head, but sagged a little. "Maslov manipulated him. So…whoever's pulling those puppet strings must've threatened him in order to convince my dad to fly at least into Moscow. They were fucking around enough to send red flags up. My guess is Maslov was in too deep, so when he finally tried to ask for help, it was too fucking late. When we got involved, discovered who you were and that you'd gone off the grid, my father finally knew he was in trouble."

Boris looked crestfallen at that. "I should've moved faster."

"Maybe," Edward agreed, shrugging a shoulder. "I'm not sure I believe you. You're still on thin fucking ice with me, but we need to get the fuck out of here. Whoever's holding my dad only gave us a small window to get what they need. If we've got this Stefan guy out there, then my team has to be better, faster, smarter." Edward looked around at us. "He's to be watched at all times. Don't take your eyes off of him, but load up. We'll head back to Kiev first."

**~oOo~**

I set the tablet onto the bed, feeling a hell of a lot better after a shower. Chernobyl had left me feeling gross and dirty, not to mention a little off kilter after having watched four men meet their demise at ugly end of a sniper rifle. The drive back to Kiev had been quiet, but we were one step closer to getting Carlisle back. The next question was where to next.

I could hear Edward's voice in the hotel room next door. Eleazar and Felix were taking charge of watching Boris. Jasper had disassembled the sniper rifle, and the older man hadn't had any other weapons on him or even in the car he'd rented, which Emmett had driven back.

Rose's face was the one that greeted me when I connected to Alaska.

Smiling, I said, "Tell me she's finally sleeping."

Rose snorted, rolling her eyes. "Alice _is_ finally sleeping. I've threatened the lives of all her minions if they wake her."

I chuckled. "Fair enough."

"You guys okay?" she asked.

Nodding, I said, "Yeah, we're okay. That was a close one. Next time, we'll need you guys. We didn't see anyone approach. We almost lost Alec and Kurt."

"Believe me, Alice was pissed the hell off. She spent a good few hours reconfiguring Igor to alert you the next time there's a heat source approaching." Her nose wrinkled a little. "I'm pretty sure a mouse could move in on you and you'll know about it."

I grinned. "I have no doubt. The pixie doesn't like mistakes, and never allows them to happen twice."

Rose laughed. "No shit. If Igor was a man, she'd have castrated his ass."

I spent the next few minutes catching Rose up with our most recent events, including everything that Boris told us.

She took notes, started some research, but finally looked up at me. "You know…if this Yury guy and the weapons dealer…um, Stefan… If those jerks are using Norilsk to do all their dirty work, then where is this Stahl jackass?" She smiled ruefully, holding up a finger. "We find that, and we may just find where they're holding Carlisle."

"I know. Trust me, that thought has crossed my mind. Alice was going to do a search on him, using his mom and the different last names. Do you know if she came across anything?" I asked her.

"She was following a few leads. I'll know more when she gets up," she explained. "She didn't want to tell you anything until she knew for sure."

"Okay," I sighed, understanding that line of thinking. We had enough information coming our way as it was.

"So where to next?" she asked.

"Back to El's safe house," I told her. "Irina's brother is flying into Kiev tomorrow to pick up some of us in his plane. There are now too many for Edward's chopper. We'll regroup there, try to figure out whether MCC is where we're headed next. My guess is that it is. We'll only have two days to have everything before there's another ransom call."

"That's gonna be tough stuff," she sighed, shaking her head. "That place is pretty locked down, from what I can tell."

"That'll be all on Mickey, the poor thing. We'll have to break in, actually," I told her. "I'll know more once we get back to the safe house."

"Okay. Speaking of minions, want to see yours?" Rose asked with a chuckle.

"Very much so." I grinned. "That's really why I was calling."

I heard her call for Bethy and Sammy at the same time that Edward stepped into our room. I waved him over, and he lay down next to me on the bed.

He dropped a kiss to my head, whispering, "Thank you. I was going to ask you to call them before we crashed."

Smiling, I nodded, but both of us drank in the sight of our kids when they popped up on the screen.

"Hi!" Bethy chirped.

"Hey, pretty girl," I sighed. "You bein' good for Aunt Kate and Gamma?"

"Caleb got in trouble. He broke a window with a ball," Sammy said with a mischievous grin.

"But we're bein' good, Mommy. Promise," Bethy vowed, even going as far as to cross her heart.

Edward and I laughed, and we sat for a good while just listening to them babble at us. They told us that Tom was teaching them how to saddle the horses, that they sheered the sheep, that Lock and Load chased a rabbit all over the property, and on and on. The sound of their chatter was just about the best thing I'd heard in a long time.

"Beffy had a bad dream," Sammy whispered, ducking when his sister shushed him.

"Don't hit," I chided, frowning. "Baby, what bad dream?"

"Wanna talk about it, little sweetness?" Edward asked, his face sobering up.

"No," she grumped, shooting her brother a scathing look. "Gamma says it's just 'cause I miss you."

"We miss you, too," Edward and I said at the same time.

"Both of you," Edward added. "But you're okay? What was that dream about?"

Bethy pouted just a little, but we took her nightmares seriously. She didn't have them as often as she once did, but occasionally, her kidnapping would come back.

"The Mean Man," she muttered, not looking at the screen.

Edward's face was heartbreaking, because anytime the Mean Man was mentioned, he'd wrap our daughter up in the safety of his arms and talk to her, but he couldn't touch her now. I knew it had to be killing him.

"Little sweetness, look at me," he ordered softly, and she did. "What did I tell you about him?"

"That he's gone, Daddy. I know! Sammy shouldn't have told!" she practically yelled.

"Gamma said you had to tell them!" Sammy argued, rolling his eyes.

Edward chuckled at them both. It was impossible to keep a straight face when they were so much like us – stubborn and smart and just plain brave.

"Enough, both of you," he said with a chuckle. When they looked back his way, he said, "I know this is hard, that we don't usually stay apart this long, but I…" He frowned, stopping himself.

"Guys," I called, linking my fingers with Edward's. "We're doing our best to get done and come back. You gotta be patient. We love you and miss you, and we're working really hard. But Bethy, you did a good thing by going to Gamma, 'cause guess what," I told her, smiling when she shook her head. "I had a nightmare, too. They're scary, and I know no one chases them away better than Daddy, but a hug from Gamma works, too. Do it again if you have to, okay? Nightmares happen to everyone. There's nothing wrong with that."

"Where you scared?" she asked, playing with a pencil on the table.

"Absolutely, baby," I told her.

"And Daddy gave you hugs?" she asked, looking between us.

Edward chuckled, because he'd given more than a hug, but our daughter didn't need to know that.

"He did, and I know he's the best at hugs, but Gamma is a close second. I promise. Take it from someone who knows, yeah?" I said, grinning and leaning into Edward's kiss to my temple.

"I want hugs and 'mooches when you come home," she ordered Edward, pointing a finger his way.

"Yes, ma'am!" he grunted, giving her a wink and a salute.

"Did you find Poppy yet?" Sammy asked softly.

"Not yet, buddy, but we're trying," Edward told him.

"You think…if you find him…we'll still go campin'?" he asked us.

"I'm not sure Poppy has ever broken a promise to you guys, has he?" Edward asked them. "He never broke one to me." He shrugged, smiling when the kids shook their heads. "He may be late, but if he says he's gonna do somethin', then he'll do it."

That was a tough promise to make, but I could see the harsh determination in my husband's eyes when he looked to me. He was planning to move mountains to get his father back, if only to be able to hand his children their Poppy back.

I nodded, turning to the tablet. "I love you guys. Be safe."

"We'll talk to you again soon," Edward said, waiting until they said the words back. He reached up to turn off the tablet, and when he turned to me, I could see his worry. "I-I c-can't f-fail th-them."

"I can't imagine you could if you tried, Edward," I soothed, taking off his hat and raking my fingers through his hair. "Go shower, baby. I want you rested when we fly out tomorrow."

He sighed wearily, getting up off the bed. "Yes, ma'am."

**~oOo~**

**EDWARD**

"Do you think we can trust this intel now?" Jasper asked, giving Boris a side glance, but pointed to the layout of MCC on the tablet in his hand.

"We don't have a fucking choice," I muttered back, shrugging a shoulder. "No matter what, we've got to get inside that combine and take that uranium."

"That's illegal as fuck, you know," he said, leaning against the hangar doorway.

We'd been back at Irina's long enough to land, eat, and for everyone to grab a little sleep – very little sleep. It was the only place Eleazar and I figured would fit everyone. Kurt, Mickey, and Bella were just about to contact Alice. We needed to know if she'd found anything on Vladimir Stahl. Boris was under Felix's control, but Eleazar was walking our way.

"I have a suggestion about getting into MCC," he whispered so that it wouldn't echo up the hangar. "But first…I want to talk to my sister. I want to know what Carlisle's said about this asshole," he grunted, pointing to Boris.

Grinning, I slapped his shoulder. "We should let him listen in, yeah?"

Jasper chuckled. "That ought to make him sweat. She says the wrong thing, this motherfucker is toast." He leaned closer to me. "And I'm not so sure Bellsy won't beat you to it."

Snorting, I nodded. "I may let her."

We walked through the hangar back to the living area. Eleazar and I sat down next to Bella, who was already pulling up a video chat with Alice.

"Wow, why so _serious_?" Alice taunted, but held up a hand. "Don't answer that. Ignore me. I've been staring at maps for the last few hours. Sorry about Chernobyl. It won't happen again."

"Alice," I said with a chuckle at her fierce expression. "No one's blaming you. I know we need to go over some things with you, but is it possible for you to get Esme?"

Her head snapped around from the screen she'd been studying, but nodded solemnly. "Yep, yep, yep. Let me get her."

Bella looked to me, her brow wrinkling, and I kissed it, whispering, "You'll see."

Mickey, Emmett, and Felix all took seats around the table. Boris was the only one out of the camera's view when Esme showed up on the screen. She looked like Alice had woken her up. She was wearing a robe, but her face was hopeful.

"Edward? El? Everything okay?" she asked, and I saw how worn out she looked. It hurt to think she wasn't getting rest.

"We're okay, Es," her brother answered. "But we have some questions for you. I'm sorry if we woke you."

She waved away the concern, but said, "I don't care about that. What do you need?"

"Tell us what Carlisle's told you about Boris," Eleazar stated, giving the man in question a raised eyebrow. "Did you meet him? Talk to him on the phone?"

She was already shaking her head. "I never met him. Carlisle was looking forward to introducing us, but we didn't…"

"I understand," I soothed her. "What did Dad tell you?"

"I heard him on the phone, though," she answered, smiling a little. "He's Russian, but his accent isn't thick, and his English was perfect." When I nodded, she went on. "Your dad showed me a picture of the two of them…from the Gulf War."

My eyebrows shot up, because so far, she'd said everything the older man at the other end of the table had said.

"Can you remember what he looks like, Es?" Eleazar prompted.

"Yeah, he's about Carlisle's age, shorter, with gray at his temples, though Carlisle said there's more gray now. And he also told me Boris walks with a limp, that he's lucky to be limping, because he almost got killed on some mission ages ago. He said that if he hadn't pushed him out of the way, the grenade would've killed Boris instead of just wounding his leg."

Glancing up, I saw Boris nodding, but he was taking this line of interrogation just fine, like he'd assumed it was coming. I had to hand it to the old man; he'd been cool as a fucking cucumber when my gun was pointed at his forehead, even more when my wife had questioned him, and he'd taken being guarded like a POW with a grain of salt.

I looked back to my stepmother. "Anything else, Esme?"

She nodded. "Yes. Carlisle gave me Boris's contact number. He said if I lost contact with you guys or we were separated in Moscow, I was to call him, to trust him. I was supposed to tell him who I was, and ask him…" She frowned, rubbing her forehead. "I was supposed to say, 'home is where the heart is.'"

"Your heart stays with you, it's your soul you leave at home," Boris replied softly.

"Yes, exactly! How'd you guys know that?" Esme asked.

Smirking, I shook my head. So the old man was for real. I waved him over. "Esme, meet Boris Zukov."

Bella got up and offered Boris her chair, and he took it, but she stood behind me with her hands on my shoulders.

"Esme, it's an honor to meet you," Boris said softly, placing a hand over his heart. "I'm so sorry it's under these circumstances. I was not fast enough. I tried to get to you. Honestly."

She smiled warmly at him, but it turned serious. "The last time you two talked, why didn't you tell us to go?"

"He swore to me that he had everything under control. And the last time we talked, I didn't know how deep this ran. On my life, I will get him back for you," he vowed, and for the first time, I saw why my dad trusted this man. He meant every word.

Eleazar read his sister better than the rest of us, because he stopped her from saying whatever it was she was about to say. "Easy, Esme. He came through with flying colors yesterday – pulled our asses out of a tight situation. He's going to prove most helpful," he promised her, but it was the grip to Boris's shoulder that didn't go unmissed.

The old man grimaced, but nodded at the same time, which caused Jasper and Emmett to snicker at him. Eleazar was an older man, but he was not to be fucked with. We all respected him, and he was tough as fucking nails.

Esme nodded, looking around the screen. "Everyone still okay?"

"Yes, ma'am," we all answered her – every last one of us.

"Good. If that's it from me, I'll give you back to Alice before she paces a groove in Kate's floors," she said, giving us a small smile. Before she left the screen, she glanced up at us. "Edward, Bella, I'm keeping an eye on Bethy."

"Another bad dream?" Bella asked, leaning forward over my shoulder.

"Yes. I think it's simply because she's worried and misses you, but she's been coming in my room," she said and then smiled. "Not that I mind. She's a good snuggler."

"That she is," I said with a chuckle. "Thanks, Esme. We're doing our best."

"I know you are. We all do," she stated before standing up. "Love all of you. Be careful, yeah?"

Again, the hangar echoed with, "Yes, ma'am," from all of us.

Alice sat back down at the computer, eyeing the man between me and Eleazar. "Has he got ID?" she asked, narrowing her eyes.

"Yep," Kurt replied, holding it up for her to see.

"Mmhm," she hummed, looking like she wasn't going to believe shit until she checked Boris out for herself. "And just where the hell have _you_ been?" she asked him, but didn't give him a chance to answer. "Let's see, let's see, let's see… You talked to Carlisle about three days before he was taken. You don't own a home in your name, yet your activity mainly resides just outside of Moscow," she said, raising an eyebrow. "You know, credit card activity, pharmacy registrations, library card…and movie rentals."

Boris's eyebrows shot up. "So much for hiding."

"Pfft, as if," Alice scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Not from me. Not when Carlisle taught me what to look for. Ghosts, my ass. It's all about where you look." She smiled super-sweetly at him. "And will you look at that… You arrived in Moscow a day late and a dollar short, not to mention a little trouble here and there."

Bella chuckled. "That's enough, pixie. He'll either earn our trust," she said, giving Boris a firm glare, "or he won't. I suggest that he behave, or else it won't be pretty."

Chuckling at my evil girl and the pale, worried face of Boris, I turned to Alice on the screen. "Stahl, Alice. What did you find out?"

"Okay, okay, okay," she chanted. "Down to it, then. There's nothing in that man's name. I mean nothing. I researched his mother's name, only to follow their trail after leaving Chernobyl…and Vladimir's father. They left the Ukraine, rented a small place in Moscow, only to finally move north to St. Petersburg to live with Celia's only living relative…her sister, Sasha. Her last name was Spektor."

"Oh hell," Emmett sighed, sitting forward. "Let me guess, shorty. Our buddy Vlad's got a cousin. Perhaps goes by the name Yury?"

Alice frowned at the screen and then at us. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. How the hell did you know that?"

We all looked to Boris, but then to Eleazar, who spoke up. "Cross reference Yury Spektor with Norilsk, Alice," he told her.

"He's the buyer that backed out," she whispered, looking up at us. "Okay, spill…what do you know?"

I turned to Eleazar. "I'm thinking Yury is playing both sides of the fence. What do you think?"

El laughed softly. "I'm thinking the same thing. He's loyal to his cousin, but George Stefan makes him more money. So…let's see." He got up and started to pace. "So Yury grows up with Vladimir, hearing all about how things went down in Chernobyl and then later when Alexander was killed. I see Gunter followed his family to St. Petersburg, so I'm wondering if the kid didn't see his father against Mom's wishes."

"Oh, damn," Bella gasped, her mouth hanging open. "So…Vlad's father probably spins this tale of how wronged he was, maybe Vlad did find out who took the hit on his father, and they set up to take Carlisle from the get-go." She smiled a little. "But when they hire George Stefan, he screws them over…or Yury helps screw his own cousin over."

"What do you want to bet it's Yury we're talkin' to on the phone?" I asked to no one in particular. Everyone stopped for a moment, but stared at me. "What? It's just a guess," I defended, shrugging a shoulder.

"No, no, kid," Alec stated, standing up. "It's a really fucking good guess. In fact, it's a helluva thought." He turned to Boris. "It's time to earn your keep. When you were in Norilsk, what did you see?"

"Not much," he replied. "Yury was there, but I think because I came in under Carlisle's order, he made himself scarce. But his men watched me the entire time."

Bella leaned over me again. "Alice, where does Yury spend the majority of his time? His money?"

Alice typed away on the computer, nodding as she usually did. "He mainly works at the mine named Mayak." She popped a Norilsk map up onto the screen. "See…Norilsk is kinda big, but there are like six fully functioning, fully operational mines. Each mine kinda has its own village around it where the workers live. It's all apartments and housing, but he lives there with his wife and works out of that mine's offices."

"So did Sergei Maslov," Boris added with a nod.

"Who, by the way, may just pull through," Alice muttered, giving us a pointed look. "He's still critical, but he seems to be hangin' in there."

"Good to know, Alice," I told her, but turned to Eleazar. "Let me ask you… Back when Norilsk was working dirty deals out the back door, which mine was the so-called back door?"

El grinned. "Mayak."

"Of course it was," Bella chortled. "It seems some things never change. And I hate to rush anyone, but we've really got to talk about MCC. Because we've got…" She glanced up at the clock. "We've got less than forty-eight hours before this asshole calls us…or rather, calls Edward back about Carlisle and…"

"Easy, sweetness," I soothed her, turning to pull her to me. "I believe Eleazar had an idea about that."

Eleazar nodded, looking to Felix. "I don't know about you guys, but I really don't think it's a smart idea to be breaking into a facility that could essentially put us all in jail for the rest of our lives. Breaking into MCC is dangerous. I say…let Stefan do it."

Everyone started to argue at one time, but Mickey's shrill whistle shut us up.

"Will you shut the hell up and let him explain?" she sighed, rolling her eyes.

El snorted, but nodded once her way. "Felix and I could go there in a…professional manner. Explain the situation. We could take sole responsibility for the possession of Gunter's uranium. We could tag it, track it, and follow it."

"Wait," Bella said, turning to face him. "You mean go in as yourselves, as CIA operatives, telling MCC exactly what's going on."

"Yes, because I guaran-fucking-tee you that Stefan is on his way there as we speak. He knows the only place he can get that uranium for those missiles is there," El stated, pointing to the storage container that we'd taken from Chernobyl. He then picked up the extra GPS chips and a couple of micro cameras. "We'd assume responsibility for it, not only promising to get it back, but stop the asshole from smuggling it. We tag it and follow it. I'd put big money on the fact that it heads straight north to Norilsk, specifically the Mayak mine."

"And if it doesn't?" Jasper countered.

"We'd still be able to track it," Alice piped up. "With no problems, actually. Especially if we know no one with fuck with it. Tell me now, and I'll walk Kurt through calibrating them, and Mickey can show you how to attach a camera so it's not seen."

All eyes landed on me. And fuck me, not for the first time, I hated that I was calling the shots. It made my father's absence that much more in my fucking face.

Sighing, I glanced around, but my gaze landed on Emmett, then Mickey, and finally, Bella. Breaking into MCC was so fucking touchy…and illegal, and if for some reason we weren't successful, then everyone in that hangar could essentially go to jail or get killed. Following Eleazar's suggestion would make it easier on everyone, but the possibility of losing the last key to getting my dad back was weighing heavily on me. I stood up, my hands clawing at my hair.

As if he could read my mind, Felix's hand landed on my shoulder. "We won't lose him, Ed. If I have to follow the asshole all by myself, we'll keep track of that uranium."

I nodded that I'd heard him, but rubbed my mouth as I weighed it out. Looking from El to Felix, I bit my bottom lip. "Okay," I sighed, nodding. "Okay, but we do this my way." I held up a finger. "You want to look official, and we gotta beat these assholes there, so I'll fly you. Alec and I will be inside the chopper. Everyone else stays here." Everyone started to argue, my wife one of them, but I held up my hand. "Stop!" I yelled, looking to Bella. "I mean it. They need to look as official as possible, and they'll be in and out. That's it. We'll fly back to here to regroup and track Stefan. Once we know for sure where it stops, we'll go in hard and fast. Got me?" I asked, and I received murmurs of acceptance.

Bella shook her head, glaring at me. "This will be the only time we're separated, Cullen," she ordered firmly, "but I get it. I'll run info with you…" She held up a finger. "On one condition, Edward."

"What's that?" I asked her, thinking I'd do anything she asked, because she always thought about sides of shit none of us considered.

"Take Jasper with you, drop him somewhere he can monitor you. I want you guys protected at all times," she stated, looking to Jasper, who looked willing to do as she asked.

I turned to Eleazar. "Got a problem with that?"

"Nope, kid," El said with a chuckle. "In fact, it's smart thinking if Stefan has his own men out there."

Turning back to my wife, I smirked, "Deal, sweetness. Now, let's get this shit ready to roll. I need to fuel up, and Eleazar and Felix need to get dressed. I wanna move out in an hour."

**~oOo~**

**A/N… Boris is still on thin ice with Edward, but he's constantly surrounded and he answered the code Esme had been given. Next up, MCC…**

**I want to thank every last one of you for all your support and love that you send my way, whether it's in reviews, PMs, FB, Twitter…all of it. It's amazing to me. And I need to thank you… :D**

**Don't forget, you can see the pic teases that I post for each chapter on FB or Twitter. The links are on my profile. So is my blog, if you'd rather see them there. **

**Next posting will be Sunday. Until then… Mooches, Deb. ;)**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N… Some of you are a little confused, simply because the names are running together. Let's see… Vladimir Stahl, the son of the man Carlisle was hired to hit years ago, hired George Stefan (an illegal arms dealer) to get his father's work back. Stefan reneged on the deal, so Stahl had to find another way to get it done, which was kidnap Carlisle and use his old crew to do it. Yury Spektor is Vladimir's cousin, the former buyer of Norilsk…and it would seem that he's playing both Stefan and Vlad. **

**For those that guessed that I had some sort of criminal board with diagrams and shit… LOL Yeah, something like that. My notes probably only make sense to me. ;) You should see when I sketch out a fight – all scribbles and Xs and it's a mess.**

**As for Boris, it seems most of you trust him. A few asked why Edward was hostile toward him, if Carlisle trusted Esme with him. First…that's not hostile for Edward. I'm sure we'll see hostile before this story is over. Second, where they are, they have to be especially careful who they trust. And they've rarely trusted people outside the crew. **

**Okay, so I'll let you guys get to it. Let's check in on Carlisle, shall we? **

**~oOo~**

**Chapter 11**

**CARLISLE**

I rubbed my wrists, glaring at the cuts and blood that were left behind when they removed my restraints. With a deep breath, I glanced up at the two men who were waiting for me to eat. I noted that they hadn't bothered to cover their faces this time around, and I tried not to let that bother me.

However, I was far too hungry and thirsty to give much focus to anything other than the big bowl of stew in front of me. Picking up the spoon, I gave it a taste. It wasn't the best, but it certainly beat out some of meals I'd had in the military, and it most definitely was better than nothing at all.

My eyes followed one of the men as he paced impatiently, only to take in the one leaning near the doorway. Neither had said a word, though I wondered which one may be calling my son. Though neither had a broken fucking nose from when I'd head-butted them the first day. That disappointed me.

Alexander Gunter. That motherfucker.

I sighed, shook my head to myself, and continued to eat in silence. That job had happened a long time ago, and I never thought anything would come of it, which reminded me that I owed Edward an apology. I should've listened to him when it came to coming over here, because never in my wildest dreams did I think things would go this far, that any of this bullshit was connected. These stupid assholes were using _my son__, __my __family,_ to get them what they wanted. And knowing them like I did, they would do it, too. Edward would walk through hell for his family and crew, and this was no different. However, if my son handed these motherfuckers nuclear weapons, I was going to kick his ass. That – if anything – made me determined to get the fuck out of here.

The man by the door spoke low to his pacing partner, and I caught the words, "relax, cousin, and revenge." Meeting the gaze of the man walking back and forth in front of me, I saw his pacing for what it really was – pure hate and anger. And it was aimed toward me.

Smiling, I finished my soup, pushing the bowl away. I took my time drinking the two bottles of water on the table in front of me. I could see both men were armed, though their guns were strapped to their thighs in holsters. They were relaxing around me, and that meant my silence, my cooperation, was working. It was leaving them with a false sense of security around me.

I stood up from the table, which caused both men to stiffen, but I truly needed to stretch my legs. They'd only let me loose to eat and occasionally to take a piss, but that was it; as soon as I was done, it was back in the chair or on the floor in restraints. And that thought and another glance at my wrists made me think of Bella.

I took a good look at myself...a mental inventory of my injuries and my surroundings. I had it way better off than she'd had it when she was taken by that psycho-weasel, Miller, though I knew I had a longer time to wait.

Bella had told me once that she'd shut her mind to the pain, blacked herself out in order to survive. Back then, I'd watched my son find patience he never even knew he had in order to heal her, and he'd showed every bit his mother's beautiful soul – something I thought had died in him the day she left us – the entire time he'd sheltered, protected, and brought Bella back to life. She been as fragile as a baby rabbit…and just as easily spooked.

Something about that thought, about the strength that Bella and Edward had found, made me proud, angry, and determined all at one time. Maybe I'd been locked down in that fucking cell for too long, but by the time my two guards decided I'd walked around enough, I was pissed the fuck off.

The guard that had been pacing grabbed me roughly, and I grinned his way. "You must have some fucking problem with me."

He shoved me hard, my back hitting the concrete wall. "It's all I can do not to kill you now," he growled in my face.

"Oh, so you _do_ speak English," I sang back with a laugh, shoving him off me when his partner tried to pull him away. "You can't kill me. Your coward of a boss needs me alive."

"He won't always need you," he vowed, grinning my way. "You killed my cousin in Moscow."

I laughed, pushing up my sleeves. "I've killed a lot of people in my very long life. You might wanna be specific, asshole."

Why I was taunting him, I had no idea. Maybe I was hoping they'd snap, reveal some information by mistake, or maybe I simply had been trapped for far too long. Either way, I was feeling more alive than I had in days.

"Was he the slow-moving bastard I shot on my right? Or the twitchy little shit I shot on my left?" I asked with a grin, but it fell quickly when the guard finally lost his cool.

He rushed at me, but I was prepared, so I ducked his heavy roundhouse swing, only to shove my shoulder hard into his stomach. The man had to have been my son's age, if not a little younger, but he was slow to react. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I heard the other guard calling for help, but I didn't stop. We landed with a grunt on the dirt floor, and I had the advantage. Straddling his chest, I swung my fists over and over, without giving the asshole a chance to catch his breath.

Just as I was about to reach for his gun, I found myself lifted and pressed against the wall by three men.

Russian was spewed in my face, then at each other, and finally, they dragged the beaten bastard out of my cell. The man to my left muttered one name that caught my attention.

Yury.

I gave up fighting at that point. I let my two new guards zip-tie my hands – to the front, this time – and push me back down to the floor, where they did the same to my ankles. I winced at the pain, but I took it. Glaring at the guards as they left me alone so they could clean up my lunch, I shifted to a more comfortable position against the wall.

I shook my head slowly, letting it fall back to the cold, hard concrete behind me. Everything suddenly made sense – Sergei's back and forth behavior, Boris's disappearance, my captivity, and even why I was still alive.

I was bait…for my son.

Yury had wanted Norilsk and had been the buyer that had backed out when I'd had Boris dig deeper, but now I saw the bigger picture…and now I recognized the voice behind the shadow. I _had_ heard it before, and I was an old fool for not remembering.

Sighing deeply, I closed my eyes as my heart calmed down. Just before my guards left the room, I called out, "Hey! You fuckers speak English?" When one nodded, I said, "You tell that stupid bastard, Yury Spektor, that he's a dead man. He has no idea what he's done. I'm not bait. I'm a fucking homing beacon."

I laughed as they left the room, slamming my cell door behind them. Smiling to myself, I pulled out the spoon I'd stolen from my lunch. With a little work, it may just come in handy.

**~oOo~**

**BELLA**

"Pay attention, dammit," Mickey ordered, shaking her head. "You have to know how this camera works before you just stick the son of a bitch on whatever container. Got me?"

"Ma'am," Felix and Eleazar replied instantly.

I turned to Jasper and Edward. The former was tugging on a camouflage jacket that he'd found in Eleazar's stores along the side of the hangar. The latter was dressed all in black, as was Alec when he stepped out of his small room. Both Alec and Edward were strapping their handguns to holsters on their thighs.

Pulling up a map, I looked to Jasper. "There's no high spot for you, Jazz. MCC is completely surrounded by woods, though. How long has it been since you climbed a tree?"

He grinned, all sweet and crooked. "Aw, Bellsy…just tell me where I'm goin', yeah?"

I shot him a wink, but zoomed in on a spot. "Here. The helicopter landing pad is just on the edge of the property. The best place for you is this east section of woods, but you'll have to hoof it on foot. It'll give you the best position to see not only the chopper, but where El and Felix will enter the building. I'll let you decide where, but Edward," I said, turning to my husband, "you need to drop him off several yards back before landing here."

He nodded once, pulled on his baseball cap, and took the tablet from me. "J, that's looking like about three klicks. What I'll do is drop you off, circle the property, and then land. That should give you time. We have to ask for permission to land anyway."

"Roger that," Jasper answered, but checked his sniper, only to set it down on the table. "And if I see Stefan's men?"

"Do not engage!" Eleazar answered from the other end of the table. "Unless they pose a threat to us, let them get in and get out, but I'd like to beat their asses there. In other words, I'd like to watch this go down _after_ we've left."

"In that case, we need to load up," Edward countered. "I hope you're right and we beat them, but if they watch this shit go down, they may get a clue."

"So far, we're clear," Felix stated, holding up his phone. "I just called to arrange this meeting. I told them to heighten security for the next few hours. They said they'd do one better and put the place on lockdown – no one in, no one out. You'll verify us when we land."

The hangar was noisy as everyone packed up what the guys would need, but it slowly started to empty.

"Excellent," I said, looking to Edward. "You're fueled up. Emmett's on it. Once you're in the air, I'll get with Alice and calibrate the camera on the chopper."

My eyes narrowed on him. He was the definition of focus and determination at the moment, but I could see that he was also letting his temper lead him.

"Edward," I sighed, shaking my head, because I was _hating _the fact that we were going to separate, even for this little bit. His head snapped up from the tablet. "You'd better stay focused, and you'd better be careful. Am I clear?"

"Yes, ma'am," he said softly.

"There may be a Plan B, baby, but if we have to use it, I'll be so _pissed_," I warned him, grinning when he chuckled a little.

"Don't I know it," he murmured, setting the tablet down onto the table and reaching for me. "I need you in my ear, love…and on my shoulder. So constant communication." He cupped my chin, forcing my gaze to his. The green was piercing, sharp, but so loving. "This is probably the simplest mission yet, sweetness. We're in, we're out. We're just eyes in the sky. This is the legal part."

Snorting, I nodded. "Up 'til now? Not so much."

"Right," he agreed, giving me my favorite sweet smile. "I-I l-love y-you. W-We'll b-be b-back w-well a-after d-dark, but I want to hear you the whole fucking way."

"Sir," I whispered in response, but stood up on my toes to kiss his lips. "Love you. Be safe."

His fingers slipped into my hair at my neck, threading through it almost roughly. He kissed me like he always kissed me when he had to leave me like this – thoroughly, with possessiveness and a claiming tongue that usually left me clueless as to what my name was. This was no different. I moaned when his hand tugged my hair just a bit, but also at the feel of my ass getting squeezed. Edward was a fucking tease.

He grinned against my lips, giving them three sweet pecks before pulling back. "Sorry."

"No, you're not," I said with a laugh. "But you'd better finish that when you get back."

"I plan on it, sweetness." He chuckled, shot me a wink, and picked up his duffle bag. "Even if we have to sneak off to do it. Repeatedly."

Shaking my head, I chuckled. "Get in the air, flyboy. And tell those boys to bring you back to me."

"Ma'am," he said with a crooked grin.

I walked him as far as the hangar door, and my eyes stayed on him the entire walk to the chopper. Once he double-checked a few things, he shot me a wave before pulling himself up into the pilot seat. I didn't wait to watch him lift off. Instead, I walked back to the table, arranging my equipment so that I could see everything.

"Igor, engage," I stated.

"_Yes, Miss Bella…"_

"Activate the chopper camera. We need to see everything."

I looked up when the sound of thundering chopper blades rattled everything around me as he flew over. I smiled to myself, shaking my head, because he'd probably done it on purpose. Something about that sound was sexy, comforting, and just…Edward, who happened to be both of those things and more.

The hangar filled with everyone left behind. They didn't say anything as they sat down around the table and got to work beside me. Edward would be in the air for a few hours, so we were going to use that time to make sure the camera was working, the GPS trackers that El had in his pocket were activated, and if we were lucky, Alice would be able to snag a satellite image of the roads leading in and out of MCC.

"Igor, contact Alaska, please," I ordered, smiling when my daughter's face filled the screen. "Hi, pretty girl. What'cha doin' up?" I asked her.

"Hi, Mommy. Aunt Alice was showin' me you and Daddy," she stated, pointing to the big screen on the wall behind her that stayed constantly locked onto our GPS trackers. "She said Daddy's flyin' a mission."

"He is. And you can watch for a bit, but I want you in jammies and bed soon, baby."

"Yes, ma'am." She looked up. "Here's Aunt Mack. Love you!"

"Love you, too, Bethy." I smiled when Makenna's face took Bethy's place. "Hiya. Ready to get to work?"

"I'm all yours. Alice is breaking into satellite feeds now. You should have access soon. She's gonna send you intermittent shots." She turned a little and typed quickly. "We tried finding this George Stefan guy. No go. At least, no phone records, no vehicle in his name…that sort of thing."

"I figured," I sighed, shaking my head. "From what I can tell, he's the type of guy you have to _know_ in order to contact." When I looked around the table, heads nodded in agreement. "Do we have a picture of him?"

"That I do have," she stated, grinning and typing. "I'm sending it your way now."

I eyed the picture, looking to the only man in the room that could identify Stefan, and Boris nodded. "That's him," he murmured.

Linking up to Edward, I said, "Edward, I'm sending a picture your way through Alec's phone. It's George Stefan."

"Copy that, sweetness," he answered immediately.

"That's him, _Bellisima_," Alec added. "We'll keep an eye out."

The next couple of hours were quiet. Edward checked in with his location every now and then, Alice sent the occasional satellite image of the entire Krasnoyarsk area, which had a few vehicles she was keeping watch over, and Irina showed up in the hangar with food.

Mickey and I grinned at each other when Kurt practically fell out of his chair to help her. He even spoke Russian so we couldn't understand him, the ass, but Boris was highly amused at the whole thing.

We teased the absolute shit out of him the second she left with a bit of a blush to her cheeks.

"Oh, dude," Emmett said with a deep chuckle and a slow shake to his head. "Just you wait until Eddie and Jazz get back. This shit's too good not to rag you over."

"You'd better watch your ass," Mickey told him with a grin. "Eleazar may shoot you over her."

"Aw fuck, you think? She's just…"

I rolled my eyes. "Just be careful, Mack Daddy."

Laughter rang out through the hangar and even through the radio link to Edward. His amused chuckle was all I heard, until Eleazar spoke up.

"Irina can take care of herself, but I'll warn you…she's not a throwaway type of girl, Kurt. She gave up a lot in New York to come back home when her father was ill. Watch yourself," he warned, and when I looked to Kurt, he was nodding, although he stayed quiet.

As Edward drew closer to where they needed to be, the hangar became filled with tension and focus. I took the chopper's camera with Emmett at my side, Mickey monitored the radio, and Alice took Mack's place on the video chat.

"Bethy went to bed, Bellsy," she murmured, giving me a pointed look.

"Thanks, Alice," I said, focusing on the chopper's position. "Edward, you're right on target. It's time to set Jasper loose."

"Ten-four, sweetness."

I smiled at the sound of his voice, but gave all the monitors a thorough gaze. Edward was hovering just high enough that Jasper could repel down, and just as his feet touched the grass beneath him, he was already diving into the woods. The chopper banked hard left, carrying on closer toward MCC, and Edward did exactly what he'd promised, which was take his time calling in his landing after making a full circle around the combine.

Jasper's GPS tracker showed his progress. He had to have been running as fast as the woods would allow, because just as Edward set down on the helicopter landing pad, Jasper stopped a few yards from the edge of the forest. We'd attached a camera to his sniper rifle just to be able to see what he was seeing. And what we saw was his climb up a fairly large tree, settling somewhere near the top. The entire combine was spread before him after he broke off a branch here and a twig there.

Back at the helicopter, Edward and Alec stepped out onto the pad, only to stand firm by the bay doors. They were playing the part of pilot and security to Eleazar and Felix, and it was working perfectly, because three men met them at the edge of the landing pad. There was a round of handshakes, a few nods of acknowledgement, and finally, Eleazar and Felix were led inside the closest building.

"Okay, everyone, stay sharp," I ordered, glancing over the screens in front of me. "Mickey, I want you monitoring Jasper. Alice, I want inside MCC's security, if possible."

"On it, on it, on it," she chanted. "They don't have much, though."

"I'll take what I can get," I replied, looking at the satellite images. "Well, well, well... What'dya know," I said in a sing-song manner, pulling the tablet closer. "Jasper's not alone in those woods."

"Sweetness, talk to me," Edward demanded over the com link.

"There's movement on the north side of the combine. Jasper, you might have visual. From your location, approximately thirty yards deep into the trees, forty-five degree angle. Take a look."

"What'cha wanna bet they were waiting 'til nightfall?" he asked, chuckling quietly. "Ed, Bellsy's right. We've got company. They're pretty interested in the newest activity on the combine grounds, but they're not makin' any moves. And I don't see Stefan."

"Copy that," Edward replied, but took a deep breath. "El, you catchin' this shit?"

"Yes," he replied softly. "Change in plans, guys. Listen up."

It seemed we all held our breaths and leaned forward.

"We're going to take this crate, _but_…" His voice urged us to listen by dragging out the last word before he went on. "But we're going to let those bastards steal it from us. They tried in Chernobyl; they'll try again now. Felix and I are seizing possession and responsibility as of this moment. The gentlemen here don't want to risk the break-in. We'll attach the GPS trackers and the camera before we even try to load it up."

"Fuck me," Edward groaned. "Okay, everyone listen up. Jasper, I need you sharp on this chopper pad. You're to stand down unless you see a problem. Then…_and only then…_you're to find a solution to that problem. Am I clear?"

"Crystal, Ed," Jasper replied casually, but that was totally his way of working. The whole world could be blowing up around him, and he'd hum a tune while saving us all through the sight of his sniper rifle.

"Sweetness?" Edward called.

"Go ahead," I told him.

"Keep those beautiful eyes peeled on our forest friends over there. I want to know the second they twitch. Got me?"

"Somewhere in there was a compliment. I'll take it," I teased him, grinning when he snorted. "Yeah. So far, you're clear. They haven't moved, so relax that sweet ass for me, okay?"

He laughed softly, but merely said, "Roger that."

I loved flirting with Edward on the radio. We all did it. The girls drove the guys crazy when there was a cheating wife under investigation, and the guys usually filled our ears with innuendo and trash talk. It kept us real, it kept us from taking shit too seriously, and it gave us a second to take a deep breath.

"What? I don't have a cute butt? What the hell, _Bellisima_?" Alec taunted over the radio, and I could've sworn I heard Edward punch him.

"Yes, you do, Alec," I said in a placating voice – the same tone I used on my kids – as I scanned the satellite images Alice was feeding me. "I'm simply partial to the butt beside yours."

Edward snorted, sighing loudly with a groan mixed in.

Emmett grinned from across the table, but shook his head. "You know," he chortled, "I've actually heard this conversation before. We were out in this bar one night…"

"Emmett, I swear to fucking God, I'll kill you dead when I get back," Edward growled over the radio, which made everyone – Boris included – crack the fuck up. "I don't need your ass on this mission."

"Hush, Edward," I chided softly. "You think I don't see women checking you out? You think I don't know how you _used_ to be? Please…what do you take me for?"

"Shut it, sweetness…"

"Anyway," Emmett sang, shooting a wink my way when I waved him on with a grin. "If I'm remembering correctly – because you know, it's been so long and I was kinda wasted – there was this group of chicks. They actually voted on the best ass. It was me, Eddie, Alec, and Jazz."

"Is that the time they pulled out quarters to see if they'd bounce?" Jasper added.

Mickey laughed and nodded. "Yup, we were in…Miami, if I'm not mistaken. Stupid drunk college bitches…"

"Oh my damn," I groaned. "I actually considered that very thing when I was pregnant with Sammy. I blamed hormones."

"So do I," Edward added with a laugh. "On both counts, Bella."

I laughed, shaking my head at the fact that Edward was probably way too handsome and sexy for his own good. "Yeah, yeah…and let me guess. Mr. Cranky wouldn't participate."

"Ding, ding, ding," Mickey said with a laugh. "And we have a winner!"

"Right in one, Bellsy," Jasper added.

"Oh, for fuck's sake!" Edward grumbled. "I was _not_ gonna let some chick try to bounce a quarter off my ass in a bar."

"Sounds like a challenge, Edward," I told him, pulling a quarter out of my pocket and slapping it down in front of Emmett just to see him laugh.

"You first, sweetness," my husband threatened, but I could hear his smile through that deadly velvet voice of his.

"Mmhm," I hummed nonchalantly, glancing over at the security feed inside MCC. "Okay, looks like Eleazar is attaching the trackers and the camera. Am I right, El?"

"Yes, ma'am," he stated softly. "Give me another twenty seconds, then you can give it a check."

"Ten-four," Mickey stated, tugging the laptop closer to her.

"And go," Felix said.

Mickey and I worked together as quickly as possible. She calibrated the small camera, and I set up the GPS trackers on a separate map.

"We are locked in," Alice sang over the video chat, and she rolled into the view of the camera. "Now, let's see what those guys do."

I pushed the map with the trackers on it over to Kurt and then pulled the laptop over to me to get a better view of the satellite images. Alice had switched to thermal, giving me a better idea as to what I was looking for, but it didn't take long for the colorful blobs to start to separate.

"Okay, everyone on me," I told them, glancing over at Jasper's view, which showed me that Eleazar and Felix were making the removal of the case in their hands a big production. "We've got El and Felix exiting the building on the north side, and they have three guards with them. We've got three…no, four heat sources moving along the edge of the woods. And my two turtle doves at the chopper better be ready."

"We got this," Edward vowed, and through Jasper's sight, I saw his and Alec's forms remove their guns from the thigh holsters.

"Jasper, I need you sharp. Looks like our company is going to bide their time until the MCC employees go back inside," I advised. "Jasper, the control is yours."

"Copy that, B," Jasper replied softly, and I smiled at the light humming he was doing over the com link.

It sounded like an old gospel song, or maybe a kids' song. I wasn't sure, because he was so soft. If Jasper was concerned, no one could tell. He carried himself as a laidback Southern gentleman, and he was absolutely born to do what he did. He could sit still for days in that tree if needed, not moving an inch. He was, by far, the sharpest shooter I'd ever met. I could hold my own, but Jasper could knock the wings off a fly from a mile away, it seemed.

My eyes drifted back to the edge of the woods, flickering between that and the camera on Jasper's rifle, which showed me the crew down on the landing pad. They were taking their sweet time setting the crate inside the cargo bay of the chopper. If the men inside the woods were going to act, they were going to do it soon.

"Brace yourselves, boys," I told them. "You're gonna have company in…three, two, one…"

Jasper's camera barely moved, but I watched as he sized up every last man running up to the landing pad. He even counted them off quietly to himself.

"Ed, I've got a solution should you need it," he advised.

Edward didn't answer him, but no one needed to say a word. Just like at Chernobyl, there were automatic weapons pointed at our four men. Alec and Edward were advised to drop their weapons, and I noted that both men tossed them too far for their captors to reach. Felix and Eleazar – with hands on their heads – stepped slowly away from the chopper's bay door.

The voices coming across the radio were speaking English.

"Don't fucking move!" one guy yelled.

"Asshole, do I look like I'm fucking moving?" Edward asked belligerently.

I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath and letting it out. I sometimes wanted to smack him. I knew he was making it seem legit, but he didn't need to get shot in the process. Though, Alec was no better.

"Put the gun down, _stunad_," he said with a grin. "We can work this out like God intended…"

"I don't think so," another one replied.

"Pussy," Edward spat, stepping forward.

"Edward Anthony, take another step and you'll answer to me," I threatened through gritted teeth.

Edward froze mid-step, but glared toward the man with the gun aimed his way. "You have any idea who you're rippin' off?" he asked them.

"We don't care. We're getting paid no matter who you are," was the answer he received as two men lifted the crate out of the cargo hold and walked back toward the woods. The man engaged his weapon, saying, "Get down on the ground and put your hands on your heads, or I'll shoot you now."

"Jasper," I stated.

"I got this, Bellsy," he answered instantly. "Fucker won't have time to pull the trigger."

The guy that had been talking to Edward jerked his chin at his friend, sending him back toward the trees. My lip twitched in anger as four of the strongest men I knew lay down on the concrete on their stomachs, their fingers linked behind their heads. The logical part of my brain knew this was what we wanted, to use the uranium as bait, but to see those men, my Edward in particular, face down on the ground made me want to tell Jasper to pull the fucking trigger anyway.

I had just about resided myself to the fact that the final man was simply going to walk away, but he didn't. Instead, he raised his weapon, aiming toward Edward's head.

"Jasper! Take it!" Emmett and I ordered at the same time.

The shot rang out over the com links, causing everyone at the table in the hangar to jump, but I couldn't take my eyes off the screen in front of me. After making sure that my four men were okay, specifically the lithe, backwards cap-wearing one that was already on his feet running for his and Alec's guns, I took a look at the satellite image.

"You gotta go," I warned them. "They'll know they're missing a guy pretty fucking soon. Go, go, go!"

"Already ahead of you, sweetness," Edward stated, diving into the pilot seat of the chopper. The whine of the blades and engine were loud.

"Felix, I want that called in, and I want you to stay on the ground to follow those bastards," Eleazar ordered him. "We'll need a cleanup crew on that ASAP. No story, just a cleanup."

"Roger that," Felix replied, and I heard him call back toward MCC for the guards.

"Jasper," Edward called as I watched Jasper's descent out of the tree in which he'd been perched. "Can you beat those motherfuckers to the landing pad? Or you want to be picked up elsewhere?"

"I'll get to you quicker," he grunted as he ran his fastest straight toward the combine, his GPS signal maneuvering through the remaining treeline. "I'll be on you in less than sixty seconds."

"So far, they haven't noticed," I told them, eyeing the satellite image. "They're too concerned with getting that crate loaded up." I switched to a different screen, smiling as Jasper made it to the chopper just as Edward lifted up off the ground.

"I got the door," Eleazar stated. "Felix, you'll check in as soon as you're free from this place. Go!"

Edward's smooth voice called his flight in, and the chopper's camera slowly drifted over MCC. Out the back of the north side of the woods, an SUV took off, leaving a dusty trail behind it.

"Damn, they didn't even check on the last guy," I snorted, shaking my head. "They just left him."

"Oh well," Emmett sighed, looking over Mickey's shoulder. "Ed?"

"Go ahead," Edward replied.

"The package is transmitting perfectly. The camera's still rollin'," he told him. "Mission accomplished."

"Ten-four. We're heading back," Edward stated, sighing wearily.

I knew him so well. I knew he was worried about losing track of that crate, about losing the last thing we needed to get his dad back, but we'd all agreed that wherever that crate stopped was going to give us the answers we needed in order to beat all of these assholes at this game.

"Igor, monitor that signal at all times. Alert us and Felix to any changes in direction or speed so that he can follow," I ordered.

"_Yes, Miss Bella."_

"Edward, you can stop for fuel. I'm sending you the coordinates," I told him.

"Thank you, Bella." His voice was subdued, and I shook my head.

"That was too fucking close," I muttered to Mickey, who simply nodded, wearing a solemn gaze. "I swear, sometimes I don't know whether to kiss him or beat him to death."

"I heard that, sweetness."

"Good." I rolled my eyes at his chuckle. "I'll have made my decision by the time you get here."

He laughed again. "I look forward to it, love."

"Mmhm," I sighed, sitting back in my chair. "Stay safe, flyboy."

"Roger that."

~oOo~

The hangar was quiet, the fire from the furnace in the corner giving off a little heat. I couldn't sleep, but I never could when Edward was in the air. And this time was no different, especially with how close he'd come to having a bullet put in his head.

Emmett walked slowly by outside the hangar door. He'd taken the next shift. We knew we were safe at Irina's, but Edward still wanted us to keep watch. Mickey and Kurt had crashed once we saw that the uranium was tracking just fine, though we'd yet to see any faces on the camera. Boris was asleep in the chair across from me. And Felix was already mobile, using Igor's help to stay behind Stefan's men at a safe distance. Irina's sister-in-law had dropped off some more food so Eleazar, Edward, Alec, and Jasper could eat when they got back, which I expected at any moment.

Boris snorted a little and continued to sleep, but the heavy thumping of chopper blades made me stand up and walk to the hangar door to watch Edward set down. Emmett guided him, wrenching open the bay door once the blades started to slow. There were a few words exchanged, but they shut up when I stepped out of the hangar.

"Don't kill him, _Bellisima_," Alec teased, but grimaced when I raised an eyebrow at him.

"Oh shit, she's gonna blow," Jasper muttered, shoving Emmett and Eleazar toward the hangar, leaving me to wait until the chopper shut down completely.

Edward slipped down out of the pilot seat, setting his headset on the cushion before turning to face me. His smug smirk made my hand ball up into a fist.

"Well, is it a kiss or a smack, sweetness?" he asked, but flinched when my knuckles connected to his bicep. "Ow, Bella! What the hell?"

"Don't you ever put yourself out there like that again," I grunted, because with each word, I was smacking at him anywhere I could reach, not to really hurt him, but to get my damn point across.

"Bella! Stop!" he growled, grabbing me about the waist and setting me in the open bay door. His hands were big enough and strong enough to hold my arms down by my side as he stood between my legs. "Okay, okay! I'm sorry!"

"We may have a Plan B, Edward Cullen, but I don't want to fucking use it!" I hissed at him. "You have any idea what it was like to have to give Jasper that order?! Do you? That asshole was aiming at _you_!" I yanked my arm out of his grasp, only to poke a finger in the middle of his forehead. "Not Alec, not El…_you_!" I poked him again. "All because of your damn mouth…"

Edward stopped fighting me, gazing up at me with a pitiful and apologetic face. His eyes were dark green, his lashes sweeping up slowly, and his eyebrows furrowed together as he realized what I'd seen. Suddenly, I wasn't mad at him anymore; I was simply grateful he was right in front of me again.

"It was stupid, Bella…I know…"

I cut him off with my mouth on his, grasping at his hat and tossing it behind me into the cabin of the helicopter so I could sink my fingers into his hair. My kiss was angry and hurt and scared, and he took all of it. Using my legs, I pulled him closer, whimpering when his hands gripped my ass and squeezed. There were teeth and tongues and moans, and it reminded me of our first kiss, that angry, needy, jealous kiss in the stairwell of a law office. So much had transpired since that kiss, and with that thought, my heart hurt.

"So fucking stupid," I hissed against his lips. "Don't do that to me, Edward. Never again. Do you know what that would've done to me?" I asked him, unable to stop my hands from touching his face – through his hair, along his now overly scruffy jaw, and finally, his chin, where I pinched and forced him to look at me.

He nodded, looking down at my lap, only to lock that heated gaze back onto me. "Get in," he ordered, shooting a glance over his shoulder before following me up into the cargo hold. With one last look toward the hangar, he slammed the door closed behind him, only to sit down in the closest seat. "C'mere, baby."

The very second his arms wrapped around me and pulled me astride his lap, my eyes filled with hot, still kind of angry tears.

He cupped my face, his thumbs swiping beneath my eyes. "Y-You're r-right. I-It w-was s-stupid, B-Bella. I-I'm s-so f-fucking s-sorry. I should've just kept my goddamn mouth closed. I was just so pissed. He was so damn smug, like he was getting away with something, and I…"

"And you thought you'd taunt the man that only sees you as an obstacle in the way by calling him a pussy? Edward, dammit!" I groaned, shaking my head. "I can't lose you…I just can't. I will tape your mouth closed next time, I swear to fucking God."

He grinned at that, unable to stop himself from saying, "You'd do that?"

"I would," I confirmed, nodding once.

His eyes flickered around us. "You'd miss my mouth, sweetness…"

"Don't you dare be cute and sexy right now. I'm not so sure you're forgiven," I stated, though simply being back in his arms was causing my anger to drift away the longer I stayed there straddling his lap. "In fact, I should still get the damn duct tape. You've got some in here, right?" I asked, leaning up and reaching for the storage bin above his head.

Edward let out a soft chuckle and a deep sigh, his hands holding my sides, but they started to move, lifting my shirt in the process. "I'm telling you, Bella…you'd miss my mouth."

I grinned, but hid it behind the storage door, because I knew that tone. Edward was absolutely shameless about making me relent, and he knew just what to say, how to say it, and what to do to get me to give in. Glancing down, I braced myself as his lips met my stomach. The scruffiness of his beard tickled my skin. My eyes rolled back when tongue and teeth were added to the sensation of the kisses he was dropping along my ribs, sternum, and belly button.

He pushed and shoved at my shirt until it was under my breasts. He continued kissing, licking, and sucking at my skin, always paying extra attention to the scars that were still visible. Sitting back down on his lap caused those kisses to stop, and our eyes locked for a moment.

"We should get back inside," I sighed regretfully, starting to adjust my shirt. "We'll never hear the end of it."

"Fuck them," he muttered, his hand slipping into my hair. He gave a gentle tug, bringing my forehead to his. "You're more important right now. They'll alert us to changes."

He took a deep breath, brushing his lips over mine – top, bottom, a swirling, light graze of his tongue. With a swift movement he'd perfected ages ago, he peeled my shirt up and off me, setting it in the seat beside ours.

"Besides," he purred, "if you're gonna tape my mouth, don't I at least get a chance to use it one…more…time?" His voice was deadly smooth and hypnotic as he leaned in to kiss where my pulse was already pounding. "You can't grant a man one last wish?"

It was utterly impossible to ignore him, to fight the need he knew how to build up between us. He knew what to say, more now than when we'd first met. His tongue swirled over my skin, making me gasp when he sucked just where he knew was the most sensitive – right behind my ear. Edward pulled my earlobe into his mouth, only to pop off.

"Last chance, sweetness. Where do you want my mouth for the last time?" he taunted, smiling against my jaw.

I shook my head, sighing in defeat. He was too much to resist, and I knew his temper was on a razor's edge with all that we were doing to get his dad back. I also knew my husband. He never, ever meant to scare me, that he trusted his crew – Jasper, in this case – to the ends of the earth and back. And Edward also needed me; he needed something to make this harsh shit…not so harsh.

"It's your punishment, Edward," I said haughtily. "I suppose you should pick. Where would _you_ like your mouth for the last time?" I held up the heavy, silver roll of duct tape for emphasis.

Edward grunted, an evil smile curling up the corners of his mouth as he dragged his tongue along his bottom lip. With one shake of his head, he said, "Everywhere."

Grinning, I could read his face like a fucking book. "Say it, Edward. The right way."

"Hmm, Bella," he crooned, shaking his head slowly. "You know I'd die a happy man if it meant I got to taste that sweet pussy one more time…"

There it was. He'd spit the word at the jackass with the gun pointed his way, but when he said it the right way – the sexy, shameless, wanton way – I wanted to climb him, give him whatever he wanted. I felt my whole body surge forward, my hips grinding down over his as I reached for his shirt, but he stopped me.

"Stand up, baby," he ordered, and I did. He stood up as well, but set me back down in the seat, pulling off my boots that weren't really tied. Next, his fingers reached for my pants, smiling when I lifted enough for him to yank them off. "Well, damn, sweetness…" he said with a light laugh. "Where have you been hiding those?"

My bra was black, which was being removed with a simple flick of his fingers, but my underwear was camo boyshorts. They were sexy, but cotton and comfortable…and now very wet.

"Fuck it, don't answer that," he muttered, reaching for the black waistband. "I don't care. I just want what's inside these."

He tugged me forcefully to the edge of the seat, draping my legs over each armrest and spreading me out in front of his face. He reached back to grip his shirt and pulled it off over his head, only to toss it in the seat on top of mine.

The green in his eyes swirled away, and heated black and naughty met my gaze as he dragged his lips up my thigh to my scar. He dropped one kiss to the middle of it before licking and nipping his way up to where I now needed him the most.

The feel of his tongue, but even more his prickly beard, caused me to buck up with a hiss.

"I'll shave, baby…soon," he vowed against my clit, only to suck it into his mouth.

By sheer habit, my fingers wove into his hair, despite the fact that it was almost too short to do so. It was all I could do not to grind all over his face, but I wasn't sure he'd have cared. His mouth was on me like he was starving – licking, sucking, and occasionally nipping with his teeth just enough to get me to cry out his name.

Slipping two fingers deep inside me, his mouth latched on to my clit, sucking and swirling his tongue, until I was a writhing mess in the chopper seat. My hands gripped at him, the armrest, anywhere I could, but he was bringing me to the peak hard and fast, which was probably what he wanted.

"Jesus, Edward…I'm gonna…"

"Mmhm," he hummed against me, and that's all it took to send me flying over the edge.

My whole body arched up out of the seat, my breath catching in my throat. "Aw, fuck," I growled through gritted teeth in order not to let them hear me all the way back inside the damn hangar, or hell, possibly up to Irina's house.

A warm, calloused hand gently rubbed my stomach, helping me come down from the spasms that racked my frame. But it was the sweet green eyes that watched me carefully, though they were a touch smug at the same time.

Edward didn't say anything, but reached beneath the seat to pull out a sleeping bag, spreading it out on the cargo hold floor.

"Get in before you catch a chill, love," he said softly, kicking out of his boots and cargos.

I did as I was told, saying, "We should really go back in, baby."

"Not yet," he murmured, dropping his boxer briefs to the floor before crawling in beside me. "They know I'm in trouble," he whispered with a crooked grin, but it fell quickly. "I-I'm s-sorry I-I s-scared y-you, s-sweetness." His whisper was sincere, honest, and sweet as every inch of his bare skin slipped amazingly against mine.

"You did." I cupped his face, snuggling closer and tangling my legs with his.

"I know, baby," he admitted, ghosting his lips across my cheek. "I'll keep my mouth in better check, Bella. I swear."

Laughing softly at that vow, I rolled my eyes. "Save this mouth for me only, handsome. Keep it shut against assholes with guns."

"Promise." He chuckled, rolling on top of me, and I welcomed the feel of him everywhere. "So…no duct tape?"

"Shut up, Edward, and kiss me. They'll interrupt us soon enough," I sighed, holding him just a touch tighter. "And we haven't fooled around in the chopper in way too long…"

He grinned, nuzzling my nose with his. "Thanks for making that call today."

"Don't make me do it again, Edward Anthony," I whispered, shaking my head.

He leaned down, lining himself up at where I was still aching for him. "Yes, ma'am."

**~oOo~**

**A/N… Don't ever Google chopper sex, by the way. The results are…scary. O_o Just sayin'. LOL Anyway, I like to think nothing changes with these two. They're still just as push and shove, passionate as they were when they kissed in that law office stairwell so long ago. ;)**

**So mission accomplished. They've planted the uranium with the bad guys, which they're hoping will result in getting some much needed answers. **

**Keep in mind, I post pic teasers on FB and Twitter. You can find the link to those on my profile. I've got some really good ones coming up to, thanks to the talented Beffers87.**

**Next posting will be Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving for my US friends. ;) Until then… Mooches, Deb. ;)**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N… God, I love you guys! XD Seriously. Every last one of you were right there with Sweetness, wanting to kiss Mercward and slap him at the same time. LOL **

**I know most of you are ready for some smackdown, but we've got some preparations to make. I'll let you guys get to it. Just see me at the bottom. **

**~oOo~**

**Chapter 12**

**EDWARD**

Small, strong fingers gripped my back, and I gazed down, locking with the deep, dark brown I loved so fucking much. I knew I'd scared the absolute shit out of my girl. I slipped inside her as deep as I could, pausing just long enough to brush a kiss across her lips.

"I'm sorry, love." I kissed her again and dropped my forehead to hers. "I'm right here. I'm okay."

She nodded against me, her body shaking just a little. "I love you," she whispered, wrapping her legs around me.

"Oh, sweetness," I sighed, my eyes closing at the feel of her surrounding me everywhere. "I love you, too, baby…so much."

Bracing my arms on either side of her head, I started a slow pace. I wanted to take my time with her, as much time as I could at the moment, because I knew we'd be called into the hangar soon enough. We'd teased each other before I'd left for MCC, but this was different. I needed to soothe her, calm her. I'd lost my head, gave into my temper when that asshole was pointing his weapon my way, and she'd seen it all, giving Jasper the go-ahead to take his shot. It was probably the first time she'd ever had to make a call like that. I should've been more in control.

My cock slid slowly into her, and I couldn't help but moan at just how good she felt, but even more at how stunning she was as her body arched up. Leaning down to her exposed neck, I drank in the scent of her, the taste of her, even the touch of sweat that was making her deliciously salty. Kissing down her collarbone to her nipple, I captured it in my mouth just to hear her gasp.

Grinning, I scraped my teeth over the sensitive peak again, and she gripped me harder, her hips bucking against mine.

"Edward, more…harder…"

The floor of the chopper's cargo bay was hard and cold, and the sleeping bag that I'd pulled out wasn't all that thick. I didn't want to scrape the shit of her back.

"Bella, I'll hurt you," I warned her. "Roll with me, sweetness."

She nodded, and I rolled us until she was on top, but we both groaned when I slipped out of her. Bella braced herself with one hand on my stomach as she guided my cock back inside.

Gripping her hips, I grinned up at her. "Now, baby…take what you need."

Goddamn, she was so fucking gorgeous when she took control. A small smug smile curled her lips, because she could read me better than anyone. She knew she was driving me crazy, that my cock was harder when she was on top. I didn't give a fuck that we'd been together for eight years. She was still the sexiest fucking thing I'd ever laid eyes on. My fingers ghosted over her scars and up to cup her breasts, just to roll the tight peaks between my thumb and forefinger. I never saw her scars the way she did. I just couldn't. She saw them as flaws still to this day, though she hardly gave them much thought. To me, they represented just how motherfucking _strong_ my girl truly was. She was beauty and strength and perseverance all rolled into a body that brought me to my knees most days.

Her hips moved over me, swiveling, in and out, up and down, and I could go so much deeper that way. I could feel and see that she was close, so I cupped her ass to guide her, to hold her as I moved with her. The warm, wet heat constricted around my dick as we pushed her closer and closer to the edge.

"C'mon, Bella…make yourself come. Use me, sweetness," I urged her, pulling at her until she was bracing her hands on the side of the chopper, which also brought those sweet nipples right over my face. "Oh yeah," I sighed, taking one into my mouth while I continued to guide her hips.

I bent my knees, driving into her and smiling when her breathing stopped, her eyes rolled back, and her mouth fell open. She was so damn close, so I sat up a bit, leaning against the side of the chopper. Threading my fingers into her hair, I tugged a little to bend her head back.

"Feels good, doesn't it, love? You feel good when you're fucking me? When you're riding my cock this hard?" I whispered against her throat, knowing that despite how much trouble I'd been in, Bella loved my dirty mouth.

"God, fuck…yes…"

I smirked at her, nipping at her earlobe. "Which turns you on more? Riding my dick, or riding my dick in this chopper, sweetness?" I asked, knowing my Bella had a naughty streak in her about a mile wide. When she didn't – or couldn't – answer, I bit down on her earlobe. "Tell me!"

"Both, Edward," she panted, her brow sweaty as she grasped at my face to kiss me to oblivion and back.

"Good girl," I praised against her mouth. Slipping my lips down her neck, I nibbled and sucked, whispering, "You're close… Let me have it. Give it to me. I wanna come with you."

Her movements became erratic, but the tightening of her pussy was pushing me closer and closer to coming so fucking hard. Just when I was about to beg her to let go, she felt apart in my arms.

My name was a chanting mantra whispered against my jaw. Holding her hips, I thrust up once, twice, and the third time caused me to explode inside her. My eyes rolled into the back of my head, and I held her firm to me, my moans buried in her neck.

"Fuck me," I grunted, my head falling back with a dull thunk against the metal cargo bay door.

She giggled softly against my cheek. "I just did, Edward."

"Shut it, sweetness," I panted with a light laugh, but settled us down into the sleeping bag. She was still on top of me, and I wrapped my arms all the way around her, dropping a kiss to her forehead. "I'm sorry I scared you."

"Just…hold me, okay?" she asked softly, her fingers tracing the ink on my bicep.

"'Kay," I agreed, feeling her finally relax a bit and then start to drift off. I'd let her sleep for a bit, at least until the crew needed us or there was some change. It wasn't like they didn't know where to find us. Shaking my head, I inhaled the scent of her hair, all flowers and fruit, closing my eyes. "Yeah, sweetness…that was the last time we separate during this bullshit," I promised in a whisper against her skin, but I simply smiled when she sighed deeply.

**~oOo~**

My eyes snapped open at the sound of hushed voices and arguing. I rolled my eyes, rubbing my face, but glanced down to see my girl still wrapped around me like a limpet. A look at my watch told me we'd only been asleep for a few hours, but at this point, I'd take any sleep I could fucking get. Bella shifted, her brow furrowing in her sleep as she wrapped her leg around me tighter, her hand practically clawing at my shoulder to hold on.

"Damn, baby," I sighed to myself, feeling like a complete and utter shit for scaring her. "Sweetness," I whispered, shaking her a little.

She snapped awake with a gasp. "Edward?"

"Easy, easy," I soothed her, brushing her hair from her face. I smiled down at her. "I think we're needed, but they're afraid to come anywhere near this chopper."

She snorted adorably, but nodded as she pushed herself up into a sitting position. She held the sleeping bag up around her breasts, but looked over her shoulder at me.

"I'm sorry I lost my mind, Edward," she murmured, her sweet eyes pleading for me to understand.

"Don't," I said, sitting up to drop a kiss to her bare shoulder and wrap my arms around her. "That was all on me, Bella. I should've just went with it, but I… I-I w-was p-pissed a-and n-nervous, y-you kn-know?"

She nodded, cupping my face. "No, I get it, but we really should get back in. I hear Mickey threatening testicles out there."

I snickered. "She'd do it, too. I taught her everything she knows."

Bella giggled. "I'm sure."

It was a touch of chaos with the two of us getting redressed. Though, I couldn't help but stop her when all she had on were those sexy as all hell camo panties, even more when she stowed her gun at the small of her back for a second while we sorted our clothes. As she knelt on the cargo bay floor in just those underwear, long, dark locks spilling down her bare back, I pulled her to me.

"Bella, listen to me," I whispered into her neck. "I'm sorry. I fucking promise you, we won't separate again. That was a mistake on my part. Okay?"

She stayed quiet, quickly putting her bra and shirt on, only to spin to face me. "No, this was how it needed to work, Edward. Had I been there, you might have really lost your temper. You know? I just…you really can't taunt these assholes. They don't care; they'll kill you and keep going. I honestly don't know what I'd do if something happened and I couldn't get to you, understand?"

Something about the tone of her voice reminded me of a warning Esme had given me ages ago, back when we'd been hunting down that bitch Lilith for taking Bethy and we'd just found out Bella was pregnant with Sammy. Esme had said I needed to focus, that if something happened to me, Bella would go on for our kids, but she'd never truly _live_ again. Putting myself in her place, I was pretty sure I'd die inside if something happened to Bella.

"I love you," I said simply, unable to explain my actions or my temper. "I'm too close to this, I think," I admitted in a whisper, pulling up my pants and sitting down in one of the seats to tug on my boots. Once they were tied, I braced my elbows on my knees. "I can't seem to separate myself from making this personal."

Bella finished getting dressed on the sleeping bag, kneeling between my legs and tilting my face so that I'd look her in the eyes. "Edward, no one's asking you to. This is _very_ personal. It's your dad, baby. We all understand. And while we all love him and respect him…he's _your_ father. That makes it a thousand times worse for you. No one's judging. In fact, I think we've all made this personal. You aren't alone in this."

My wife loved my dad, so for her to say that meant a shit-ton to me.

"Thanks, sweetness," I barely said aloud.

She kissed me, smiling against my lips. She held up the roll of fucking duct tape. "I love you, Edward, but I'll use this, I swear."

Grinning, I grabbed her and hugged her fiercely. "No, you won't," I growled into her neck. "If you did, your poor pussy would go all neglected and shit."

She groaned into a soft laugh, smacking at me. "Shut it, baby. Let's go back in."

She reached for the bay doors as I pulled my shirt back on, and the sound of a hissing argument met our ears.

"I'm telling you, I'll junk-punch the shit out of you if you even go near that chopper," Mickey warned Emmett and Alec, folding her arms across her chest. "Give them a fucking break, yeah? Eddie hasn't slept, Bellsy had to call in a sniper shot…" She pointed toward Jasper. "And we still have no fucking clue where Carlisle is. Just slow the fuck down. Okay?"

Smiling at her protectiveness, I shook my head. "At ease, wild child," I ordered, gripping her shoulder when Bella and I joined them.

"I'm just sayin'," she huffed, rolling her eyes to the guys, who looked anxious. "Now look. You fucking woke them."

Bella giggled, kissing Mickey's cheek. "We'll live. What's all this, anyway? Felix?"

Mickey shoved Emmett when he opened his mouth to speak. "Shut up!" she snapped exasperatedly before turning back to us. "The only change is that Felix is still following the package. He thought they'd stop somewhere, fly the uranium to wherever, but he sent us a message when they exchanged vehicles. So it's still on the road, and funnily enough, it's heading north just like we thought it would."

"Damn," I said, gripping my hair before pulling my baseball cap back on. "That's a good eleven hundred miles. He'll be on the road for too long with no sleep. That's dangerous as fuck, especially if they catch sight of him. Pull him out, El." I looked to Eleazar, who was shaking his head slowly. "We can monitor the crate's progress with the GPS trackers. There's no need to keep him out in the open."

"He can handle himself just fine, Ed," he countered, but he was rubbing his chin in thought. "I can pull him, but I think having him tail them could work in our favor. If they stop along the way or meet up with someone else…you see what I'm saying? It'll mean we'll already have someone in place, someone that can give us intel before we fly his way."

"Show me where they are," I demanded, and Mickey led us all back into the hangar to the far back portion, where the table was set up.

Kurt was monitoring a map of the Central Siberian Plateau, where the uranium's tracker was showing about almost a hundred miles south of us. A glance at the clock told me they'd traveled through the night already after leaving MCC. Having more than one man in the transport was beneficial to them, as they could switch drivers, but it didn't make me worry any less for Felix being out there as a lone fucking wolf. But El knew him better than I did, so I had no choice but to take his word for it.

I shook my head slowly, rubbing my face. "Okay, leave him, but get a message to him that I don't want him exposed and he needs to mind his fucking surroundings."

"Will do, kid," El agreed, pulling out his phone and sending a text. "Though, Felix is like Jasper here," he added, jerking his chin toward the man in question, who was sitting at the table working on his rifle. "He can go days without sleep and still do his job."

"Fair enough," I said, walking to the wall of weapons that were hanging.

"What'cha thinkin', Ed?" Emmett asked softly coming to stand beside me.

I turned, leaning against the long workbench. "I'm thinking we're right, that Stefan's men will head straight to Norilsk." I locked eyes with Bella as she joined us. "If that's the case, we need a plan, and I'm not so sure we shouldn't beat them up there. What do you think, sweetness?"

My girl rubbed her temple and nodded, but turned back to the table. She unrolled a large map of our area. "MCC was here," she started, pointing a finger to the lower portion. "Norilsk is up here. We're kinda in the middle. I don't think there's much between here and Norilsk, to be honest."

"There isn't."

We all looked up when Irina's voice met our ears, and I hid my grin when poor Kurt just about tripped over his own two feet to get to her. She was carrying a tray and a basket, and he took both from her.

Emmett snorted next to me, smacking my shoulder, but I shook my head. Now wasn't the fucking time to rag the guy about his apparent crush on our hostess. Though, with a grin a raised eyebrow Emmett's way, I knew we'd revisit that topic later.

"Thank you," I told her, pointing to the large amount of food Kurt and Mickey were unpacking.

"You're welcome," she said with a smile. She tapped the map Bella had been studying. "You're right, though. There's not much between here and Norilsk – few farms and small villages, but nothing that would do them any good." She tapped the map a little south of Norilsk, but glanced at the screen with the GPS location on it. "If they continue using that road and they reach this mountain range, then you could almost be sure that Norilsk is their end goal."

I looked over Bella's shoulder and nodded. "That's a gamble," I murmured, mainly to myself, but Bella nodded in agreement. "If we take that risk, fly north, and beat them there, then we'll be in Norilsk when those bastards call for a trade. It'll be cutting time short."

"Well, kid," Alec sighed, gripping my shoulder. "That's when you'll have the most power. Check this out." He held up a tablet with a grin. "So I had the girls tap into a satellite feed of Norilsk. Check out the Mayak mine. See the activity?" When I nodded, he went on. "Now, check out what El's pal Shelly can do."

I felt the wicked grin curl up on my face as the feed zoomed in closer to the mine, specifically the building outside the mine, which looked to be the offices. Alec was able to drag the picture around to show the area where there were apartments after apartments. The entire area was fenced in and guarded, the details so fucking clear that I could tell the bastards were using automatic weapons.

"Fuck, can you get me a count with locations?"

"Done, Ed," Alec told me with a grin. "You've got about twenty men. They seem to change shifts every ten hours or so. Two to three men at the main gate at all times, two at the main front door to the office building. There's a constant moving guard in and around the processing plant, and finally, there's four…count 'em _four_ bastards at the entrance of the mine itself. And that's outside. I've seen three more go in and not come out for hours."

"Well, what'dya know?" Bella asked softly, asking for the tablet. Her finger moved the picture all around, but she kept going back to the mine's opening. "So the actual mine itself is important enough to need over seven guards?" she asked, but I knew my wife was really thinking out loud. "And Carlisle hinted at twenty or more men…"

She stepped away and started to pace slowly, her eyes studying that satellite image. She sat down quickly in front of the laptop. "Igor, engage."

"_Yes, Miss Bella…"_

"I need a map of the Mayak mine tunnels. The most current you can locate. Then I want to know the difference between Mayak and the other mines. I don't mean product or size. I mean what facilities are underground."

"_As you wish…"_

She looked to me. "What if…baby, what if Carlisle is there?" she asked quietly, but her eyes narrowed a little. "I know it's a stab in the dark, but seriously…"

"Yeah," I agreed, dropping a kiss to the top of her head. "The thought had crossed my mind."

The laptop bleeped, and we smiled at Alice's face popping up in the corner. "The tunnels? Really?"

"I know you're kinda pissed at Igor, but you gotta trust him sometime, pixie," Bella teased her. "Chernobyl was a glitch, but lately, he's been most helpful."

"I know," she answered with a grin. "He's learning, but I'm not calling about what you're doing. I'm calling about that last ransom call you got in Kiev."

That shit got everyone's attention. We all gathered around the laptop, waiting for her to explain.

"Okay, okay, okay," she chanted, nodding to herself. "I told you they used the internet and a ghost IP…cloning it and routing it through several cities…"

"Alice…" we all groaned.

"I love you, girl, but don't bother to explain all that shit. Just tell us what has you calling," Bella said with a sweet, patience smirk on her face.

Alice grinned. "Fine, fine, fine. So…I've been tracking that IP address. They've used it again, and remember how Eleazar's people were able to listen in on that conversation? Well, I followed their lead. They thought they were smart by changing from phone to computer, but not so much!" She held up a finger. "The person that used it? Yury Spektor. Know where it was?"

"Norilsk," I answered her.

She smiled and nodded, pointing to me. "Yup, yup, yup. And wanna know something else?" she asked, but didn't bother to wait for an answer. "I ran a voice comparison on him and your ransom caller. Edward, you were right. It's Yury that's calling you, but guess who else he's calling…"

"George Stefan," Boris finally piped up.

"Right in one," Alice chirped. "Which was the _absolute dumbest_ thing he could've done, because now I have a lock on Stefan, and he's not with the transport that the uranium is on. He was, however, near MCC when you guys were."

"I'll let Felix know to keep a look out. Stefan is most likely following them, if he doesn't catch a flight up there," Eleazar noted, texting out another message, but he huffed a light laugh. "So the bastard doesn't actually go near the weapons he's moving." He shook his head. "Interesting. That will have to change. I want his ass fair and square for stealing from me."

Nodding, I looked back to Alice. "I want your honest opinion, Alice… Do you think it's possible that my dad's in Norilsk? That he's been there the whole time?"

She took a deep breath. "Maybe, yeah. It would make sense. Carlisle going missing has gone global now, so it's not like they can move him around. If what we're seeing on those satellite images is true, then they'd have enough security to keep anyone from seeing him. You know, keep him hidden, but close to when they'd need him."

"What do you wanna do, kid?" Alec asked.

I stood up, walking closer back to the wall of weapons. I yanked my cap off, scrubbed my head, only to pull it back on. I faced everyone in the room.

"We have to face the fact that my dad may or may not be there," I started, getting a few nods. "We also owe Maslov…" I grimaced a little. "The asshole tried to get the message across, but it was too late. However, his family and innocent workers are still under threat at Norilsk. So…that being said… We focus on following the uranium, simply to kill two birds with one pissed off fucking stone."

Bella grinned, shaking her head, but shot me a wink. "You want to cut Stefan off at the mine. You want to go in guns blazing? Or silent and dark?"

"Silent and dark, sweetness. If my dad isn't there, then at least they'll be calling soon enough, and we can set up for a trade…or one of those fucking armed assholes will know where he is," I told her.

"Maybe even Stefan himself," Eleazar added with a gleam in his eye while rubbing his hands together.

I turned to Jasper and Emmett. "This'll be a full-out assault – a black-op," I told them. "I want us to plan for it. Go in fully armed. Maybe even cover from the air." I pointed toward the weapons hanging on the wall. "Emmett, is there something we could mount in the chopper, something Eleazar could man?"

"Oh, yeah," Emmett sang with a big ass grin. "We can definitely get you hooked up."

"Okay, good. Start that first." I spun to Bella. "I want you to get with Mickey…familiarize yourself with an automatic weapon. I've shown you before; just get a touch of practice in."

"Yeah, okay." She nodded.

"Jasper, Alec, you're with me and Alice. I want to see this mine from every angle, especially with the tunnel layouts Igor finds. We'll need to be smart. There's more of them than there are of us, but if we go in silent, we can reduce that number at the same time we free those people, and we'll not only stop Stefan, but we'll be able to make a deal for my dad. We only have today to plan. That asshole will call tomorrow, and when he does, I want to already be inside Norilsk and in fucking control. Got me?" I asked.

"Sir!"

Lastly, I turned to Boris. "This is where you'll be needed. Sit down…tell me about this fucking mine."

He grinned, nodding a little. "Thought you'd never ask…"

**~oOo~**

"Concentrate, Bells," Mickey instructed. "The kickback is what you're not used to. Try it again."

Emmett and I lifted our heads from the work we were doing inside the chopper to watch Bella engage the Sig and pull the trigger. I smiled when the targets of tin cans, bottles, and old fruit exploded off the fence posts one by fucking one. She turned quickly, snapped off a few more shots at a target Eleazar had set up for her. And fuck me, if the silhouette didn't have holes in the heart and the head, despite the fact that she was given limited lighting.

"She's a fucking sharp shot, I swear," Emmett said with a grin. "She'd be deadly behind a sniper."

Laughing, I nodded. "We've tried it. You're right; she's scary behind the scope, but she can't be still for that long. She's like us that way. She'd rather be _doing something_."

Emmett chuckled. "Fair enough." He looked down at the bracket we'd mounted in the floor of my chopper, shook it a little. "That should do it, Ed. Let's hook her up."

We set the belt-fed machine gun on its mount, and Emmett swiveled it just a little, making sure that it had decent range out the open cargo door. I lifted a couple boxes of ammo next to it.

"It's Israeli, but it's fucking strong and the aim is damn near perfect," Emmett noted with a nod of approval. "El should kick some ass with it. Ready to load up that Humvee?"

"Yeah, go ahead and pull it out of the hangar," I told him, pointing to the area beside the chopper. "Make sure to send them with most of the heavier equipment. If they take off in the next hour, they may be able to catch up to Felix."

"Hooah," he replied, double-timing it back into the hangar.

I took a deep breath and let it out. The plan was down to the wire. We needed too much equipment and had too many fucking people to all fly. I was sending Alec with a team ahead of us before the sun could even come up. I wanted them to scope out the ground around the Mayak mine in Norilsk, find Jasper a decent sniper position, and look for weaknesses that we couldn't quite get from the satellite images. I was sending Kurt so they'd be connected to not only us and Felix, but Alice and Igor as well. He'd be their main source for info.

I walked past the hangar, shaking my head when I heard Jasper and Emmett arguing about which weapons they wanted. They knew what we needed; that shit was now a preference debate. I stepped up behind the girls, studying my Bella as she took aim and popped off another few rounds. She was still adjusting to the feel of it. With her nine mil in her hand, she was spot-on, but with what we might be facing, I wanted all of us heavily armed.

Mickey stepped back, offering me the Sig she'd been using and jerking a chin to Eleazar to change the targets.

"Sweetness," I said, checking the clip in my weapon. Bella turned to face me, looking worried, but I smiled. "Awesome job, baby, but now…do what you've been doing...but do it while moving. Got me?" When she didn't answer, I asked, "Want me to show you?"

"Please," she said softly.

When the Humvee pulled out of the hangar, I turned to Mickey. "Make sure they load up the RPG, plenty of clips and ammo, and the vests. And I believe El said he had NVGs. Those would be most helpful, wild child."

Mickey laughed, slapped my shoulder, and pointed to Bella. "She's a kickass shot. She should do well while moving."

"I'm sure she will," I said with a chuckle, giving Bella a wink.

"What's NVG?" my girl asked.

"Night vision goggles. We may need them," I told her, engaging the Sig in my hands. "Sweetness, focus. We're going in quiet…up to a point. I'm sure once we've cleared the perimeter, then the entrance to the actual mine will be hell on earth. So make sure you use anything you can to hide behind, for cover. Got me?"

She nodded. "Okay. Show me what you want. I'll copy."

"'Kay."

Giving my surroundings a glance, I made a small obstacle course – behind El's SUV, the corner of the hangar, the edge of the fence, and finally flat on my stomach underneath Peter's plane. I took my shots at the four targets Eleazar had mounted. Two were paper, and two were glass bottles. One of the bottles shattered, and my paper targets were kill shots – both through the heart.

Bella grinned. "You missed one."

"Beat me, then, sweetness." I popped her on the behind before backing away as El replaced the targets one more time.

Bella's small stature – like Mickey – was going to make her impossible to target. She could stay low, crawl in smaller spaces, and move quicker than most men. It was why I was teaming them together again. I grinned when she mimicked my moves, my shots, and finally the dive under the plane.

"Ha!" She beamed with pride, pointing my way. "Both bottles and both headshots!"

Laughing, I wrapped her in a hug, taking the weapon from her. "You're badass, Bella. We all know it. But I need you to stay sharp, stay as covered as you can. Am I clear?"

"Yes, sir," she mumbled against my jaw. "I know the plan, baby. I'm good."

"Speaking of plans," I sighed, pulling back and shooting a glance over to the Humvee. "We need to get them on the road. Like now." I waved El in from the field, taking Bella's hand and joining them. "Alec, Jasper, Kurt, Boris…it's time!"

Alec walked to me, gripping my shoulder. He was already mostly dressed for this mission, but he smiled. "I got this, kid. If that path Irina showed us is clear, we'll be there way before sunset. We'll stay on the com link the whole time."

"Ten-four," I replied, nodding once. "Jasper, I want you and Boris high, hidden, and silent."

"Gotcha, Ed," Jasper answered, setting his equipment into the back of the vehicle before walking to me. "It's better that way." He jerked a thumb behind him at Boris. "He's no good on the ground with that limp, and he's already proven he's a dead shot back in Chernobyl. If he fucks up, I'll just shoot him from my position."

Laughing, I nodded. "Roger that."

It wasn't that we didn't trust Boris. My dad had sworn he was trustworthy, Esme believed he was okay, and he'd been nothing but forthcoming since he'd saved our asses back in Chernobyl. He simply wasn't someone we'd worked with before, so that made us wary. Jasper was right; Boris's age and his old injured leg made him a poor choice for ground assault, but perfect for an eye in the sky.

"Everyone on me," I yelled, giving a shrill whistle to get their attention before snatching the map that was in the driver's side door. I walked to the hood of the Humvee, spreading out the map out. "One last time," I stated, pointing to a spot on the map. "You guys are going to meet Felix just over this ridge. He's still tailing the uranium, and from what we can tell, it's dead set for Norilsk. My team will be behind you. We'll rendezvous at this point," I told them, pointing to a hill that would give me plenty of space to set down without alerting the assholes guarding the mine. "At that point, Mickey, Emmett, and Bella will take to the ground and gear up. El's with me in the air. I want everyone to keep their com links on and connected. I want you at the ready. Clear?"

"Sir!"

Nodding, I rolled the map up and handed it to Kurt. "Load up. Get of here. And for fuck's sake…stay safe."

**~oOo~**

**A/N… If you're thinking the next chapter is all-out assault. Yep. Pretty much. ;)**

**I wanted to wish my American friends a safe and happy Thanksgiving. I see everyone stating their thanks every day on FB, and I rarely have time to think, much less add mine into the mix, but I thought I'd do that now… **

**I'm grateful for the simple shit – the roof over my head, the food in my fridge, my job, and a husband that spoils me rotten. I'm thankful for my friends – both RL and fandom and some that have meshed into both (you guys know who you are). I'm thankful for my readers who beg and plead and cheer me on, even when I'm not feeling it. **_**Especially**_** when I'm not feeling it, because those are the days I probably need it the most. Thank you guys for every PM, review, and message on FB and Twitter, and thank you to even the silent lurkers. **

**Happy Thanksgiving. **

**Until Sunday… Mooches, Deb. ;)**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N… I hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday and/or weekend. ;) I somehow missed out on pumpkin pie, a tragedy I intend to rectify ASAP! LOL **

**Okay, so this is where I'm gonna tell you to get in, buckle up, and hang on. This is probably the most action/violence/fighting I've ever written. This is our Mercward and his crew doing what they do. So just bear that in mind. I'll let you get on with it. See me at the bottom.**

**~oOo~**

**Chapter 13**

**BELLA**

"Sweetness, gimme your leg," Edward ordered, patting the bumper of the Humvee.

I set my boot where he'd indicated, and he pulled a large knife out of a duffle bag. He grabbed my ankle, securing the knife in its sheath to the inside of my calf, and then gave my thigh a squeeze before putting my foot back down on the ground.

"C'mere," he murmured, checking my Kevlar vest, the Sig, and my thigh holster with my nine mil. He smiled a little, tapping the bill of my cap. "I need you to stick with Mickey," he told me reaching for the face paint, but he merely grinned when I shot it a foul look. "Tough, baby. You're wearing it. You'll put it on after the first phase, okay?"

We'd landed on the other side of the hill from the Mayak mine a couple of hours after sunset. Alec's team pulled in just about twenty minutes later. My eyes drifted over to where Kurt was setting up a portable info station. He was going to sit in the Humvee to keep us as connected as possible. Boris and Jasper had already started their trek up the hill to station themselves as invisible as possible, but still be able to see the entire Mayak area, including the apartment housing. Alec, Felix, and Emmett were already scoping out the front gates.

Edward's eyes were soft green as he softly instructed me how to apply the face paint, lightly dragging his fingers down my face, almost at an angle. Getting me ready seemed to be a way of centering himself, and I was okay with that.

"You just want to take the shine off your face, sweetness," he said, setting the small tube down on the hood of the truck.

I nodded, but changed the subject. "Are you going in on the ground with us?" I asked him in a whisper. When we'd landed, he'd started to question whether he was taking to the air or not, at least not right away.

"I may have to. From what the chopper's camera caught on the way over, it looks like there's at least two fifty cals on the roofs of those apartments. It also shows one to two men manning them. If Jasper and Boris can take those men out first, then I could fly, giving you guys coverage through the front gates," he explained.

"But?" I asked, knowing he always thought of both sides.

"But…" he continued as he went through another check of my gear just to keep busy. "But…if we go in on the ground in teams of two, except for Emmett – he'd be alone – then we could come in from every single angle, using Boris and Jasper as cover. I want to see where they set up, if they can cover that entire fenced area, not to mention the mine entrance."

He glanced up when footsteps approached, but then gazed out over the small village. "I'd like to cause the least amount of damage I can to this place. People live here, work here. My only concern is the assholes guarding the place."

"Well, then, I think I have an idea," Alec piped up, but he shot me a wink. "Lookin' good, _Bellisima_."

I rolled my eyes, but waited for him to keep going.

"Check this out," he said, pulling out a map and rolling it open on the ground. "Everyone take a knee, and Jazz…you and Boris listen in as you get settled." The whole team gathered around the map as he spread it out in the dirt.

"Copy that," Jasper answered over our earpieces.

"This place is a rectangle. The four apartment buildings are on the east side. The processing plant, mine entrance, and offices are on the west side. The front gates are closer to the plant than the living spaces. You've got two men at the gate, two guards pacing the fence-line on every side at all times – back and forth. When our snipers are in place, we'll know exactly how many are on the roofs." He tapped the map. "Our biggest concern will be getting inside that mine entrance. It'll be blind; we'd essentially need to take out every asshole out there silently _before_ we even approach it. According to the GPS trackers on our uranium, they took it straight inside that fucking mine."

He stood up straight. "Kid, I don't think flying will work. We'd need you on the ground running things." He gripped my shoulder. "When Stefan arrives, then absolutely, but on this…no."

Edward rubbed his chin and nodded. "Okay," he agreed, tugging off his cap and scrubbing a hand through his hair as he studied the map intensely. "Then we need to get moving, but we'll wait on Boris and Jasper," he stated, standing up and giving us all the once-over. "Emmett, you're to shadow the girls to the front gates. They're the best thing to send in through the front fucking door."

Mickey and I grinned, leaning next to each other on the Humvee. He was using the "pretty damsel in distress" type of decoy, which meant we'd need to go in with our weapons hidden and our faces clean…at least at first.

"You three aren't to go anywhere near that front gate until I say so. Am I clear?" he added, waiting until we acknowledged him before going on. He knelt by the map again. "El, you're with me. We're going in the east section of fence. We'll then take the south fence, taking cover at this apartment building, the last one before the mine entrance. Alec, I need you to take the north fence-line." Edward glanced up at Felix. "Felix, you still able to do this?"

"Yeah, Ed, just tell me what you need."

Edward nodded. "Okay. You'll be covered by Boris along the west side, which is the tougher side, considering it's the closest to the processing plant and the mine's entrance. We'll go in as soon as Jasper clears the apartment rooftops of the gunners and Boris clears the guard along the back and roof of the plant. Everybody with me so far?"

"Sir," we called back.

He glanced down at his watch. "Jasper, Boris, what's your status?"

"I'm in position," Jasper replied back. "Give Boris another few minutes."

"Copy that," Edward grunted, standing up from the map. "Normally, I'd wait a few more hours, but we haven't got the time. I want that fucking uranium in my possession when that asshole calls me for a trade." He glanced at his watch again. "And we'll be pushing it as it is. If they hold true, then they'll call in a few hours. I wanna be at the ready."

"Edward, I'm in position," Boris called over the com link.

"Ten-four," he replied, spinning to Kurt. "Kurt, I want you in my ear, with Alice on the satellite. I wanna hear every-fucking-thing."

"Already on it," he answered. "You've got guns on the roof of the apartment buildings east and west. The two in the middle are clear."

"Jasper?" Edward asked.

"That's a big ten-four, Ed. And I have the solution to the problem already. Tell me when we're a go for take-down," he answered back instantly.

Edward walked to me, reaching behind me for the face paint on the hood of the Humvee. With quick, jagged swipes at his face, he concealed himself, using the window as a mirror. And it seemed with every dark green, black, and brown smear, his eyes became harder, harsher, cold. I watched in complete fascination as my husband slowly went away and the mercenary I'd met so long ago emerged. His jaw flexed, his hands precise as he strapped on his Glock, knife, and Kevlar vest. He adjusted his Sig so that it was strapped across his strong back, and finally, he filled his cargos with clips and ammo.

"Everyone, on me. Get into your positions. Jasper, you'll go on my word," he ordered, but stopped me before we all separated. "Sweetness, I'm not fucking kidding. I wanna hear you, and you'll only go on my say. I need you sharp. Got me?"

I wasn't talking to my sweet, stuttering Edward. I was talking to the man leading this mission.

"That goes for you, too, you know," I sassed back, reaching up to cover up a spot he'd missed with the face paint.

My heart hurt a little when he didn't joke back, but I understood it. He needed to shut himself down for this. It was so fucking important that we get this uranium back in our hands, to take George Stefan out of the picture, and clear this area of his men so that we could truly concentrate on getting Carlisle back.

"Be safe, Edward," I muttered, turning to pick up the small duffle bag I was carrying. I pulled it on over my head, spinning it to my back. "Tell us when we're to go in."

Mickey was waiting patiently for me with Emmett a few feet ahead. I started toward them, but was stopped with a strong chest in my back and a soft voice in my ear.

"Bella, you stay safe, too. Understand me? I can't lose you, so fuck Plan B. I need you back, but I also need you on this mission. You tread so fucking carefully, am I clear?" he breathed heavily into my ear.

"Yes," I whispered back, but the feel of him was gone. When I turned to look, he was already double-timing it with Eleazar toward the east end of the compound.

I joined Emmett and Mickey, both of whom were eyeing me worriedly, but I nodded once. "Let's do this."

Emmett had already scoped out a trail for us through the brush. The area was hilly and scarce of any real cover, except for a few scroungy-looking bushes, but we used them nonetheless, making our way down to a rocky point just outside the front gates. We all knelt down, and Mickey and I pulled out our binoculars to watch Jasper and Boris in action. The com links in our ears were filled with constant, yet very quiet communication.

Through the night-vision binoculars, I saw Felix creep into place on the left-hand side of the compound. On my right, if I didn't know what I was looking for, I would've never seen Edward and Eleazar's approach to the east side of the fence line. It was Alec I wouldn't be able to see, though I heard when he called to Edward that he was on point.

My head tilted, taking in the two apartment buildings.

"J, you're clear to kick off this football game," Edward ordered softly. "You have the better eyes, so keep it silent, keep it secret."

Jasper's reply was soft, controlled. "Starting with the building closest to you, Ed. You've got eyes scanning the area. C'mon, motherfucker, turn around…" he mumbled.

Mickey and I both trained our binoculars toward the farthest building's rooftop. There was a large gun positioned to where it was aimed off the corner of the building. From that point, they could essentially cover most of the southern fence and the eastern corner. One guard kept a slow pace around the edge of the rooftop, while the other one hovered near the gun. They weren't paying attention, and it would work in our favor.

"Punter's got the ball," Jasper sang in warning.

The very second the pacing guard turned his corner, putting his back to his partner, the man at the gun fell silently. Before the walking guard could react, he collapsed into a heap as well.

"It's a fair catch. Your section is clear, Ed," Jasper stated. "Watch those guards along the fence."

Mickey and I seemed to move in sync to where Edward and El would be going in. Two men walked the fence in opposite directions, passing each other almost in the middle.

"The easiest way to take them out would be once they pass each other," Mickey muttered, not really suggesting anything, but most likely thinking out loud.

From my position, I could barely make out Edward's form as he rushed to the fence, ducking behind a bush. With quick movements, he snipped the links of the chainlink to give himself an opening. The best part was the hesitation the guard closest to Eleazar had when he stopped to light himself a cigarette. That gave everyone their chance to move. Eleazar waited until Edward's guard turned around before wrapping a hand around his target's mouth and twisting hard. In the blink of an eye, the body was gone, hidden away, as was Eleazar as he waited for Edward.

Edward's part would be a little trickier, considering he had to move fast when his target turned around. He slipped silently through his hole in the fence, waiting, unmoving, for the guard to spin. But the guy stopped just on the other side of the bush in which Edward was hiding to take a leak.

"Aw hell," Mickey snorted, shaking her head. "Don't let him shake it more than twice, pretty boy."

Emmett shook with his silent laughter next to me, but Edward couldn't say shit at the moment. The guard finally finished, lit a cigarette, and turned. I was pretty damn certain he didn't even have a chance to notice his partner had vanished, because he was in Edward's grip, dragged to the back of the closest apartment building, and disposed of before he could even take his second step.

It was humbling to watch Edward work, and slightly terrifying, too. He was lithe, precise, confident, and…heaven help me…sexy as he got himself into the position to take the guards along the front fence, which would clear the way for Mickey, Emmett, and me.

"Edward and El have cleared their area, Jasper," I advised. "Move on to the next gun."

The next gunner position would clear Alec to move in from the back part of the compound. Just like the first building, there were two guards – one walking around the edge of the roof, and the other positioned at the gun. The latter this time was actually sitting behind the fifty cal. And that would make things easier on Jasper.

It didn't take him long to clear that roof. Neither guard made a sound as they were taken down.

"Okay, boys," Jasper sang low. "Your field is clear. Take down the right and left tackles, and Boris, clear the endzone."

At the mention of Boris, Emmett asked for Mickey's binoculars, and the two of us shifted just a little in order to keep an eye on Felix's progress, which was practically invisible in the shadows of the processing plant. His target was alone, though there was one on the roof.

Boris's voice was soft over the com link. "He's too close to the edge. If I shoot, he'll fall, which will alert your target."

"Copy that, Boris," Felix replied. "Do what you need. I'll cover the rest."

"Ten-four."

Felix waited until the rooftop guard turned just slightly at the same time the fence-line target turned around. With stealthy moves, he was over the fence and hidden in the shadows behind a garbage bin. The pacing target never saw him, but he did spin around when the sound of a sickening thud caught his attention. The rooftop guard fell, but as soon as the pacing guard walked just past Felix to investigate, he, too, vanished out of my sightline. However, Felix did something none of us were expecting; he interrogated his guard.

"You speak English?" he asked, and he must've gotten a positive response, because he continued in English. "Where is it? The crate that arrived today? Tell me and I won't cut out your eyes."

Emmett grinned evilly, but we waited for an answer while holding our breaths.

"I don't know," the guy grunted.

"Bullshit. Try again," Felix growled low, and I winced at the sound of the guy's obvious pain over the line. "Where is it?"

"All right, all right! Inside the tunnel…first right, then left…you won't get past the guards," the man wheezed.

"I got past you, didn't I?" Felix muttered. "Now, where are they holding the prisoner?"

"What prisoner? I don't know about any prisoner!"

Felix chuckled. "You sure about that?"

"I swear!"

"Aw, c'mon now. Think, asshole. There's got to be some talk. Extra security somewhere else or talk of a trade… Who do you answer to?" he rattled off all at once it seemed.

"Stefan. I answer to Stefan. But I swear, I don't know about a prisoner," the guard replied frantically.

"Leave it, Felix," Edward ordered softly over the earpieces. "Shut him up."

Felix chuckled, and it was chillingly wicked. I merely heard a muted grunt before he sighed, "Fine, Ed. The west end is clear."

"Roger that," Edward replied. "So is the south fence line. Em, I want you hidden when the girls approach the front gates. You're clear to go."

My binoculars scanned the front for movement, but I saw nothing. Hell, I couldn't even find my husband, but that didn't surprise me at all.

Emmett turned to us. "Gimme your shit," he stated, taking our automatic rifles from us. We were going to walk up to the front gates. He slung them over his shoulder, but pointed to our legs. "Those, too. Stash those nine mils."

We ripped the thigh holsters off, and I tucked my gun into my waistband at the small of my back, making sure that my jacket covered it while Mickey did the same. We were both wearing baseball caps with our hair pulled through the back, but we took those off, too, putting them in the duffle bag I wasn't giving up.

I turned to Mickey. "Ready?"

She grinned, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. "Hell, yes. What'cha think? Poor lost American tourist?"

Edward snorted over the line. "Ladies, it's all on you. If we can quietly take out the guards, Felix and Alec will replace them as decoys for when our guest arrives. Everyone else will fall in to clear the mine tunnel. Copy?"

"Sir," we all stated.

"Edward, we're going in. Watch our backs," I stated, following Mickey to the edge of the road so it would look like we were lost or broken down, looking for assistance.

Edward grunted derisively. "Sweetness, I _always_ watch your back."

Mickey and I laughed softly, stepping out onto the road leading to the front gates of the Mayak mine.

With one last check of my gun at my back, I said, "Copy that," and started walking.

**~oOo~**

**EDWARD**

My hands balled up into fists as I watched my wife through the NVG goggles. They were definitely coming in handy on this mission. With Kurt's and Alice's soft advice in our ears, we definitely had the advantage. But none of that fucking mattered when my girl was walking into the last section of guarded fence – the front gate.

There were two motherfuckers pacing the area, both armed with both handguns and rifles, though the latter were leaning up against the guard shack.

I crept low and silent, using the shadows of the closest building and the trees nearby, in order to get closer to the gate. My goal was the guard shack. Using silent hand signals, I told El where I was going and ordered him to make his way toward the front of the mine entrance. I caught sight of Alec, holding his position at the end of the little street.

"Alec, you're clear. Make your way toward the west side of the guard gate," I muttered quietly over the com link. "Get ready to take these assholes' positions."

"Copy that."

I flattened myself behind a low wall, my eyes trained on the front gates. Again, my hands balled up into fists. There was an instinct to protect Bella, but I knew what she was truly capable of, what she could do. She was beautiful…and deadly. And she used both of those traits to get the fucking job done. As she and Mickey walked casually up to the gate, the first guard stopped them, but I could already see that the girls' mere appearance had him hook, line, and fucking sinker.

I chuckled low, shaking my head a little. "Fuckers won't stand a chance," I murmured, mainly to myself, but Jasper laughed softly.

"Nope. You should see this asshole's face. Love at fucking first sight," he sang in a whisper. "I'd be willing to bet he's already imagining the both of them…_together._"

Scowling at the thought, I pushed my jealousy aside. I wasn't fucking stupid. I saw how men looked at Bella…and Mickey, for that matter…no matter where the fuck we went.

"Shut it," Bella hissed, but smiled when they finally were close enough to speak to the guy.

Irina and Kurt had been kind enough to teach the girls a few choice phrases in Russian before we left the safe house. It was simple shit, phrases that would make them sound lost, naïve, and helpless, not to mention phrases of control and command. Those two girls were anything but helpless.

Grinning, I took advantage of the fact that now _both_ guards had their attention solely on the pretty girls asking for directions, help, or a phone to use. Plastering my back against the hedge, I scanned the area for Emmett. He was right where he needed to be – invisible and silent, lying low just on the other side of the road. He'd never been seen because the girls had all the attention on them. That was fucking perfect.

"Em, can you move closer?" I asked over the com link.

"I can. What'cha thinking?"

"Stand by," I muttered, giving the area a scan.

There was movement by the entrance of the mine, but far enough away that it didn't matter. I noted a couple of wretched-looking cameras on the upper portion of the apartment building I was next to, and a few lights were on, but otherwise, the place was quiet. No movement to my right, which was the way I'd come in, and no movement on the other side of the guard gate on my left, except for Felix, who was patiently waiting in position.

The fact that no one would've assumed that I had women on my team made me smirk to myself. I'd noticed that shit since the beginning of this whole goddamn operation. These assholes assumed we were all men, and they'd never even considered what information I had at my very fingertips. The guards at the gate never suspected a thing when they led the girls to the guard shack. Sexist bastards. They were about to learn a very fucking harsh lesson when it came to trusting a beautiful face.

"The girls are about to finish this shit," Jasper noted softly.

"You keep them in your sight, but I'd rather not have the sound of breaking glass, J," I advised, eyeing the large windows of the tiny building. "We've been silent up 'til now."

"Roger that," he concurred. "I have the solution should they need it."

"They aren't gonna need it," Emmett piped up with a touch of amusement to his tone.

Peeking out around the hedge, I practically held my breath as I watched Mickey and my wife step inside the guard shack. If shit went wrong, they'd be trapped, but I had faith in the two of them.

Mickey grinned sweetly, picking up the receiver on the phone. Bella shuffled nervously – a complete and total act on her part – lingering at the door. Neither girl looked like they were in their thirties. Their height, young-looking faces, and slight figures placed them in what I'd heard men guess was mid-twenties. They also didn't look like they could kill a man, but as Bella slowly reached for her weapon at the small of her back, I braced myself.

"Bella, don't use that gun," I warned her.

"I got this, pretty boy," Mickey stated, pretending like she was making a phone call. "Relax."

I merely grunted in disbelief, but watched the girls take total control. Bella wrapped her hand around the grip of her gun, stepping silently up behind the man closest to her, who happened to also be the man at the back of the small room.

The click-click-click was soft over the com link, barely heard, but I could well imagine how loud it was in that shack, because the guard jumped a little when he realized he had a weapon pointed straight to his temple.

"On your knees," Bella instructed in Russian, and he obeyed instantly. She glared at the other guard, saying, "Move, and he dies."

Mickey hung up the phone and pulled out her own weapon, spinning a silencer on the end of her gun. When she was finished, she jerked her chin to the still-standing guard, telling him to kneel.

"Poor guys, they look heartbroken," Jasper teased over the line as Bella added a silencer to her own weapon.

The two men were stripped of their weapons and radios. Their eyes were wide with fear, and had they behaved themselves, I would've bet the girls would've simply bound and gagged them, leaving them in the shack, but they didn't fucking think. The guard closest to Bella shifted, assuming he could out-maneuver her with his size. He failed spectacularly. She not only countered his touch, but the sound of his breaking wrist echoed over the com link, and she never even blinked, pulling the trigger twice.

_Thump-thump._

His partner met the same fate from the end of Mickey's gun. I let out a breath of relief that we'd successfully accomplished clearing the entire perimeter, including the guns on the rooftops, but Alice's voice was sharp in my ear.

"Hoshit, hoshit, hoshit! Edward, don't fucking move! You've got what looks like replacement guards approaching the front gates," she advised frantically. "Two of them. Everyone, freeze."

"Talk to me, pixie," I murmured as quietly as I could, pulling out my Glock. "Coming my way?"

"Yes, you'll have company in less than fifteen seconds on your lefthand side. I have two warm bodies in motion. I can't tell with the infrared if they're armed. I'm sorry," she stated worriedly.

"They are," Emmett added. "Armed, but not in their hands. Edward, get low. You can grab them in three, two…one."

From my view from behind the hedge, I heard the men talking softly to one another, but I waited until they'd stepped past me before I reached out and grabbed the closest man from behind, slapping my hand over his mouth. I pointed my gun at his partner, shaking my head for him to stay quiet.

"He's twitchy, Ed," Jasper warned. "I've got him; I've got him."

"Take it," I ordered, wrenching my hand hard to the left, snapping my target's neck at the same time Jasper took his shot. A quick glance around told me no one had heard a thing. "Our time is closing in on us, guys. We need that mine cleared…right fucking now," I ordered, stashing the two bodies behind the hedge.

"Copy that," a few of them answered.

"Everyone knows where they're going. Get to it. Now," I snapped, running low to the edge of the building, only to see Alec and Felix take the front gate guards' positions. From a distance, there was no way to tell they weren't George Stefan's men. Bella and Mickey closed the guard shack door, hiding their targets' bodies, and joined me at the side of the building.

"El, what'cha see?" I asked, telling the girls to stay low, stay still.

Though, I couldn't resist pulling my girl close just to feel her, make sure she was okay. She smiled and nodded, pulling her baseball cap back on with her ponytail through the back as Mickey did the same. I could see that they'd quickly applied the face paint to their faces for this next part. The streets were dark, and we'd need to stick to the shadows, so concealment was a fucking must.

"I've got four guards at the mine entrance and a blind spot just inside," he advised. "I could use an eye in the sky for this."

"I've got you," Boris stated. "Give me ten seconds. I'm moving in."

"Ed, you're clear to close in," Eleazar said softly.

"Roger that," I replied, checking to see Emmett move quick and low to a spot across the street. "Em, keep to that point. Wait for my signal."

"Ten-four."

Sticking to the shadows, the girls and I worked our way to El's location. He was crouched behind a garbage bin when we joined him.

"Check this," he whispered, pointing toward the gaping entrance of the mine. "You've got two on this side, two on the opposite side, and if you look closely, there's movement behind that giant fucking machine just inside. Any damn sound, and we're gonna have company."

"And I'd be willing to bet…lots of it," I murmured back, scanning the inside of the mine. El was right; there was movement, but how many were in there was the fucking question. "Boris, what's your location?"

"I'm making my way up the stairs to the roof of the building behind you."

"Excellent," El whispered, looking up behind us, only to shoot a glance back at the mine. "If we move to the right and Emmett and the girls take the left, we could have Boris clear these guards out." He gestured with his hand, pointing toward the two areas.

I nodded. There was enough cover on either side to hide, but Boris would need to be fast and not fucking miss.

"I'm in position," Boris advised. "I have all targets in sight."

"Copy that. Can you get them all without stopping?" I asked.

"Ten-four."

"On my mark, Boris. No sooner. Emmett, move in closer," I ordered, turning to the girls. "On my command, we're going to let Boris take out these guards, but we need to move them the very fucking second they're down. Got me?" Hearing affirmative replies, I nodded. "The second they're down, we move in fast and quiet."

"Got it," Bella stated in a whisper.

She was so fucking cute, all face painted and sharp as a fucking tack. It was all I could do not to kiss the shit out of her right there.

"What?" she asked, her brow wrinkling.

Grinning, I shook my head. "Nothing. Go get 'em, sweetness."

"'Kay," she replied, following Mickey back a bit the way we'd come, only to shoot across the street to join Emmett.

I jerked my chin to Eleazar, following him the same way, only to the opposite side of the mine entrance. We ducked behind a piece of equipment, eyeing our targets.

"Fucking perfect," I barely breathed, glancing across to Emmett's location. "Boris, on my mark, take out the two guards at the back as quickly as you can. Emmett, catch yours before he falls."

"Roger that," Emmett answered.

I moved into position quietly behind my target, holding up my hands. With a nod of my head, the shot was dead-on. The guard's head snapped back, and he slowly fell right into my awaiting hands. Gripping him, I dragged him off, stashing him behind the large metal machine with Eleazar. My eyes darted to the other side of the mine, pleased that Emmett had done the exact same thing. And I was glad to see that he'd given the girls back their Sigs.

"Again," I ordered over the com link as quietly as I could. We all knew this hit didn't need catching. There was enough noise inside the mine to cover the sound of a body hitting the dirt ground.

The guards collapsed within nanoseconds of each other. Eleazar dragged that one out of the way as Emmett and Mickey did the same on the other side.

"Damn good shootin', Boris," I praised him. "Get down from where you are. Cover this mine opening."

"Copy," he replied.

"Alice, any video inside this thing?" I asked over the com link.

"No, none. You'll be on your own once inside. I can't use the infrared there. Too much…well, just shit inside – equipment, activity, heat sources, and electronics. I do have a map of the tunnels."

"Show me," I ordered, pulling out my phone and hiding behind the metal machine. I lowered the brightness on the screen as Alice sent the tunnel map my way. I showed Eleazar. "That asshole that Felix interrogated said here, then here… Think we can trust it?"

"We don't have a choice, really. At least it's _something_ to go on. Though, the GPS trackers seem to say the same. Ready?"

"Yeah. My team, move inside to the first point. Go quietly," I ordered, plastering my back against the hard concrete wall just outside the mine entrance. Eleazar was right beside me. With a peek inside, I whispered, "Move, move, move."

The machine inside the tunnel was enormous, looking like some twisted alien torture device. The tires were huge, but the front of the damn thing was round, with worn-down spikes all over it. It was simply a machine created to dig deep into the earth. It smelled of gasoline, oil, and old dirt. But we all stopped on the other side of it. Through the cab, I could see a couple of men at an old folding table. They were talking, drinking what looked to be coffee, and playing a few hands of cards. I counted four of the bastards.

When one man stood up, he called loudly. "Milkovich!" When he didn't get the answer from outside the mine entrance, he started our way.

"Oh hell," El murmured. "This will end…loudly."

I sighed, glancing around at my team. "Fuck it. Unleash hell. Kill 'em all," I ordered, spinning my rifle to my front. "Boris, stay sharp."

I didn't hear his reply, because Emmett snapped into action. With a loud, engaging sound of his weapon, he stepped from behind the tunneling machine. The man that was walking our way was mowed down in a hail of fire. The men at the card table practically tripped over themselves to step into action, but we were faster…and smarter. The girls dove under the machine, using the tires as cover, Eleazar took the right side of the damn thing, while Emmett mowed up the middle. I climbed up to the cab, shooting through the open windows.

The original four men were annihilated, but our gunfire drew in several more guards. Four more fell to the floor before I called for everyone to move in. At the end of the tunnel, I gave signals to take a two-by-two formation, with Emmett watching our six. The girls stuck together, and Eleazar and I took the lead, making the first right down the tunnel.

The first few yards were empty, our thick surrounding walls giving off the dense feeling of claustrophobia. The lights were dim, the dirt floor smooth from being used quite often. The smell was simply earth, sweat, and something kind of metallic. I was beginning to think we'd taken out all the damn guards, because no one interrupted our path down the long tunnel. The left we needed to take was several yards ahead of us, but suddenly, men filled the tunnel.

"We've got company," I stated, opening fire at the end of the dirt corridor. I kept pushing my way forward, pulling the trigger at any movement in front of me. I had no fucking cover, so I had no choice but to shoot to kill.

The first tunnel on the left looked more like an old-ass office hallway, and I jumped over several fallen guards to the opposite side, leaving the closest wall for the girls. Sneaking a glimpse around the corner, I jerked a chin, telling them all was clear and going in.

"Fuck," I sighed, shaking my head when there were several doors along that hallway. "Keep your eyes fucking peeled. That crate is…" I dragged out the word, pulling my phone up. "Alice…uranium GPS tracker. Is it still transmitting?"

"Yes, yes, yes," she replied instantly. "Up ahead, looks like a few yards from your location."

"Of course it is, which would put it at the end of this motherfucking hallway," I groaned. "Any movement on its camera?"

"Nope. You're clear."

"Roger that."

"Check each room, but let's do this," I ordered.

The hallway wasn't that long, and each room was checked as we made our way down the hall. It seemed like we'd emptied out our enemies. The last room was a storage room of sorts. Several crates were stacked all over the place, but I recognized our particular crate right inside, like they'd just stashed it.

Emmett positioned himself just inside the door as Bella, Mickey, and Eleazar checked out the crate. The lead-lined containers that held our uranium were still intact, and they got it ready to move.

Just as we started for the door, it burst open. The crate was forgotten and five rifles engaged.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Emmett yelled.

The haze of adrenaline cleared just a little for me to be able to see that it was a small woman standing there all scared to fucking death. She started rambling, sobbing, and shaking. And I didn't understand a word of what she was saying.

El lowered his weapon, walking to her slowly. He spoke softly but quickly, turning to look at me.

"This is Maslov's wife."

Mickey and Bella lowered their weapons, but Emmett held steady at the door.

"Well, what's she saying?" Bella asked, her eyes warming at the poor woman.

"She's saying that Maslov is alive, that he told her to watch for us," he translated, raising an eyebrow at me in disbelief. "She said she was to support anyone taking out…killing…Stefan's men…that Carlisle Cullen would free this little village."

I snorted, rolling my eyes and shaking my head. "Fine, fine, but what's she want?"

He spoke to her a little, turning back to me. "To help. She's gonna show us a better way out of here."

"Uh, no she's not," I stated roughly. "No fucking way. I'm not trusting this…this…"

Mickey and Bella spun around to glare at me, their faces cold.

"Um…woman," I finished carefully.

Bella snorted into a rough laugh, raising an eyebrow my way when I shrugged, before turning to Eleazar. She pulled out her phone, asking, "Which way was she suggesting?"

Eleazar talked with the woman some more, showing her our map. He straightened up, looking my way. "This tunnel out here," he stated, jerking a thumb toward the door. "It leads to another tunnel that's unused. It's been sealed off, but it looks like it empties out just outside the gate."

My eyebrows shot up at that. "Okay, good to know, but I'm not leaving this place 'til Stefan's out of the fucking picture. Ask her where the best location is to set up shop for a bit."

Eleazar nodded in agreement, doing as I asked. "She says her husband's office."

I threw my hands up, saying, "Fine. Fucking perfect. Lead the damn way."

Emmett came to me, grabbing the other side of the crate as we followed the girls and Eleazar.

"You sure about this?" he asked softly, lifting his end of the crate.

"Nope," I replied, shrugging a shoulder. "But at least we'll be able to hear from Alec and Felix when we get company. _And_ we'll have some privacy for when that call comes in."

"Ten-four," he replied.

We made our way down the hall to a small stairwell and then up one flight of stairs to the last door. Mrs. Maslov pushed open the door. It was, indeed, an office, and from what I could tell, she was being honest. There were a few pictures on the desk of her and Sergei Maslov. A few photos of kids were next to them. Emmett and I set the crate down, and he spun to lock the door.

"Leave the lights off," I ordered, walking to the window that overlooked not only the entire village, but the front gates as well. "Felix, Alec, keep me posted for visitors," I ordered.

"Roger that," Alec replied.

"Kurt, Alice," I called over the com link. "The very second this phone fucking rings, I want you to do your best to trace it."

"I'm already on it, Edward," Alice piped up. "I've had a computer set up just for that."

"Thanks," I sighed, turning to the people in the room. "Ask her how many men Stefan has stationed here. We've obviously removed a majority of them."

Eleazar translated the question for me to Mrs. Maslov. She shook her head, but answered him with a pretty sincere look on her face.

"She says that there's always about ten inside this area of the mine. The gate usually has two or four, depending on the time of day. And she accounted for all the assholes along the fences. She said if you want to find the guards not on duty, you'll want to check the first floor apartments in the first building outside. Stefan removed the families that were living there to give his men a place to stay.

"Well, wasn't that fucking sweet of him?" I asked sarcastically, turning to Emmett. "Go meet up with Boris. Clean that first floor out. Tie 'em up, kill 'em if they give you trouble, but render them useless."

"Sure thing, Ed," he answered, and Boris acknowledge me as well.

"You want us to go, pretty boy?" Mickey asked.

"Yeah," I sighed, looking to Bella. "You watch that sweet ass, sweetness. Check in ASAP."

"Okay," she stated, readying her weapon and following Mickey and Emmett out of the room.

Eleazar took a seat on the edge of the desk. Mrs. Maslov stayed quiet, but her eyes locked onto a picture of her husband.

"Is Sergei gonna make it?" I asked her, but Eleazar translated the question.

She smiled sadly. "Yes. Home soon," she stated in rough English. "I hope."

Smiling back her way, I nodded, watching my crew and wife run across the street and into the building. They commanded each other over the com link, but I practically jumped when Maslov's old phone started to vibrate across his desk.

I locked gazes with Eleazar, but my command was to Kurt and Alice. "Here we go. Look sharp. Tell me if you can trace this call."

"Go, Edward," Kurt answered.

Tapping my ear, I silently told Eleazar to listen in to Emmett's takedown of the apartments, but I shut my ear piece off in order to answer the phone.

"Cullen!" I snapped, barely able to hold back the hatred in my voice.

"Ah, young Cullen. I hope I find you successful in your progress," the raspy, accented voice crawled over the line.

"Fuck you. I wanna talk to my father before I tell you shit. Now. Like ten fucking seconds ago," I ordered. This asshole no longer called the fucking shots.

"Fair enough. Carlisle, say hello to your son," he stated.

"Edward." My dad sounded exhausted and weak, but he was at least alive, and I wanted to stall as long as I could for Alice to maybe work some of her genius magic.

"You okay, Dad?" I asked uselessly, because until I set eyes on my father, he wasn't okay.

"Yeah, son, but don't you dare give these motherfuckers a damn thing. Am I clear?" he asked, but I frowned at the fact that there was barely any power behind his voice.

"Dad, I'm going to do what I have to in order to get you out of there," I stated cryptically. "I need you to hang in there for me."

"Not so fast, Edward," the caller interrupted. And now I was truly convinced I was dealing with Yury Spektor. "Tell me your progress."

"I've got what you want, but this trade will go _my_ way. And I don't give a shit where you are or where you have to come from. You'll make this trade at the Mayak mine in Norlisk."

The line went silent for a moment.

"No can do, Cullen. That's not good for me."

"Trust me when I tell you that George Stefan is out of this fucked-up race you've put me in. I have control of his little village, and he's soon to be…removed from the equation altogether. Now… I have the missile casings and the uranium. I want my father in my sights before you get shit. Front gates, at dawn."

The line was quiet again, but finally, I got an answer. "Okay, but I want to be able to see both crates from the road."

"I can do that," I vowed, thinking empty crates looked the same from far away. I was just about to ask why my father sounded like shit, but I was cut off.

"Dawn." The line went dead, and I looked at El.

"Well, now we have our trade point. Right there."

"Ed," El started, looking out the window.

"We don't have to leave the shit in the crates – just use them as bait…"

"Edward!" Eleazar yelled, and my attention snapped to him. "Kid, you need to turn your com link on."

I touched my earpiece, asking "Why?" at the same time.

"They traced that phone call, son," he whispered, pointing out the window. "Kurt fucking flew the coop, man. Em's team cleared that apartment building, and then Kurt met them at the gate in the Humvee."

"Oh fuck… Sweetness, you better fucking check in, and I mean _now_!" I growled, starting for the door, but El's hand stopped me.

"Edward, he's less than five miles away. It's an old abandoned mine! I _knew_ they were staying close by to Norilsk. I just fucking knew it!" Bella answered over the com link. "You stop Stefan. We'll get your dad."

"No, no, no!" I was fucking livid.

"Stop, kid," Alec stated calmly over the radio. "She's got Kurt, Emmett, and Mickey with her. They've got this shit. And unfortunately, we're about to have company."

Bringing my binoculars to my eyes, I scanned the road, seeing headlights heading our way, but they came to a stop.

"Oh no, we're not," I groaned, shaking my head. "We just lost Stefan. He got spooked."

"Oh, hell," Mickey groaned.

"Don't you dare, wild child," I started to reprimand, but Eleazar stopped me again.

"Never mind Stefan. My people can catch him. Let's follow that lead your girl is hell-bent on following," he suggested.

"Alice, how sure are you?" I asked.

"So fucking sure that I sent Bella to get him," she replied without apology. "I broke his algorithm. He's four and a half miles just south of you in a mine that was shut down years ago because it dried up. It wouldn't have been on the map."

"Okay," I sighed. "And the satellite. What's it show?"

"Several warm bodies around a small shallow tunnel…and one warm body in a room all by itself."

"Shit!" I hissed, yanking off my cap and gripping my hair. I turned to Eleazar. "You stay here. You guard that shit with your life. Jasper, move in closer. I need you on the ground and in control. Boris, you're gonna fly with me."

"Copy that," Boris replied, as did Jasper.

"Edward—" Bella started.

"Don't, Bella. Just…" I was pissed, but it wasn't like I wouldn't have done the same fucking thing. "Just stay safe, yeah? You'll have air support ASAP."

I knew she was most likely bracing for my temper, but she sighed in relief. "Hurry, Edward. If we find your dad, this'll all be over."

Running down the stairs and out of that fucking hole in the ground, I said, "Ten-four, sweetness. I'm on my way."

**~oOo~**

**A/N… So…you think they've found Daddy C? ;) **

**If you thought the action was over, you're wrong. LOL And that's all I'm sayin'.**

**Second, with the holiday last week, I've found myself a touch behind. I'm hoping to catch up, but if I can't, I'll still post on Wednesday, which puts Sunday up in the air. I just wanted to give you fair warning ahead of time. Okay? Don't panic, just know that I want to be able to not rush anything. **

**Okay, as usual, all my links to FB and Twitter and my blog are on my profile. Beffers87 caught an amazing Mercward moment in a beautiful manip. Come check it out. ;) **

**I'll see you guys Wednesday, and you'll know then if Sunday is a go. Until then… Mooches, Deb ;)**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N… Just to let you know there won't be an update Sunday. I apologize, but with RL and the holiday, my time was limited. I will, however, update a week from today. Okay?**

**It seems a bit of a split decision on whether they've found Carlisle or not. Why don't we hear from the man himself… See me at the bottom…**

**~oOo~**

**Chapter 14**

**CARLISLE**

"You stupid son of a bitch!"

I braced myself for the hit that was coming. I was being held, so there was no way I could protect myself. I grunted, gritting my teeth against the hard punch. Apparently, my good friend whose cousin I'd killed at the hotel in Moscow needed a little get-back. His face was a bruised, purple swollen mess from our last encounter.

"Looking good. You should model with that fucking face," I taunted, shifting my weight against the men holding me. What they couldn't see was what I was hiding in my grip.

Another punch – this time, to my gut. I doubled over, groaning and chuckling at the same time, because he'd just given me ample opportunity to grip the weapon I'd made out of my spoon. A few bends back and forth, and the spoon part was gone, leaving a nice, sharp, twisted piece of metal, not unlike a shank in prison fights.

With both hands wrapped around the spoon's handle, I surged forward, swinging hard. I caught the asshole hard in the stomach, only to jab again at his neck. Smiling at the fact that I'd left the spoon's handle in his flesh and at the sharp, metallic scent of blood filling my cell, I shoved the fucker back.

It was a fatal wound. He'd bleed out from his jugular before he made it out of my cell. His buddies dropped me, but it was too late; he collapsed to the ground, holding his neck. Within a few seconds, I had two men on me, kicking, punching, and shoving me against the wall.

"Enough!" a voice yelled, causing the men to drop me.

There was a moment when the room went black, the jackasses having gotten in a few kicks to my head. My stomach ached, the fingers on my left hand felt broken, and the zip-ties that bound my wrists had cut even deeper as I'd fought. I still pushed myself up into a sitting position, glaring at my captor.

"Fuck the lights, Yury," I panted. "I know it's you, you stupid motherfucker. You can stop hiding."

His laugh was light, but it didn't last long. He stepped past the light at the same time that several men dragged out the bloody body. The cell slammed closed, but a guard was left inside with an automatic rifle.

"Impressive, Carlisle," Yury drawled, jerking a thumb behind him. "You saved me the trouble from doing that shit myself. I'd ordered you not to be touched."

I nodded. "You're fucking welcome, then."

He grinned, and it, too, fell quickly. "Perhaps I underestimated you. You know who I am, you killed one of my men…"

"Maybe," I allowed, flinching when pain shot through my head and ribs. "Or perhaps you need better men. You can thank one of them for letting your name slip."

He smirked, but he didn't say anything for a moment. "It's time to call your son, Carlisle. How much faith do you have in him? Would you bet your life on him?"

I didn't answer him, simply staring at his face. He seemed over-confident, like he knew the answers to all the cosmic riddles. I trusted my son – and his crew, for that matter – with my life.

"He's had plenty of time to do as I'd asked. Guess we'll find out if we can kill you or not, huh?" Yury posed.

I snorted, rolled my eyes, and waved him on. I was pretty sure if Edward had what this asshole wanted, he wouldn't just hand it over…or at least, I hoped not.

Yury pulled out a cell phone, and I noted it was a different one from the last. I wondered for a second if that was giving Alice shit-fits trying to trace calls. He put it on speaker, letting it ring.

"Cullen!" my son answered, and he sounded pissed the fuck off.

"Ah, young Cullen. I hope I find you successful in your progress." He grinned my way, but I gave him nothing.

"Fuck you. I wanna talk to my father before I tell you shit. Now. Like ten fucking seconds ago," Edward demanded, sounding a bit more in control than the last time we'd talked.

Yury nodded, walking to me and holding the phone out. "Fair enough. Carlisle, say hello to your son."

"Edward," I stated, and my head gave another dull throb, which made me wonder just how fucking hard those assholes had kicked me.

"You okay, Dad?"

Glaring Yury's way, I said, "Yeah, son, but don't you dare give these motherfuckers a damn thing. Am I clear?"

"Dad, I'm going to do what I have to in order to get you out of there. I need you to hang in there for me," Edward vowed over the line, and while I heard somewhat of a tone of sarcasm in his voice, I didn't let anything show on my face.

Yury snatched the phone away, standing up and starting to pace. "Not so fast, Edward. Tell me your progress."

"I've got what you want, but this trade will go _my_ way. And I don't give a shit where you are or where you have to come from. You'll make this trade at the Mayak mine in Norlisk."

I studied Yury when he didn't answer my son immediately. He looked nervous as shit when he spoke next. "No can do, Cullen. That's not good for me."

"Trust me when I tell you that George Stefan is out of this fucked-up race you've put me in. I have control of his little village, and he's soon to be…removed from the equation altogether. Now… I have the missile casings and the uranium. I want my father in my sights before you get shit. Front gates, at dawn."

I couldn't stop my eyebrows from rising up if I tried. George Stefan. I snorted just a little to myself, shaking my head. Yury was playing a dangerous fucking game. I knew for a damn fact George Stefan wasn't behind my kidnapping. That wasn't his style. I knew if they were looking for Alexander Gunter's work, then then there was either big money involved…or it was personal. I knew George Stefan traded arms all over Europe, the Middle East, and the U.S., and I knew that Yury answered to someone else when he left my cell. There was a player in all of this I couldn't figure out. If I had to guess, then maybe Gunter had a relative, perhaps a son, that wanted revenge.

Yury finally gave Edward an answer. "Okay, but I want to be able to see both crates from the road."

"I can do that," Edward replied instantly, but I'd taught him well enough that he was most likely laying a trap.

"Dawn," Yury stated through gritted teeth, but he hung up and then spun to me, livid. "How does he know? _How_?!" he yelled in my face.

"Know what?" I asked, now understanding that whatever Yury's plans were, they just flew out the fucking window.

"How does Edward know about Stefan? How could he possibly know?" he hissed, leaning toward me to smack my face.

Groaning at the pain of my head more than the hit, I squeezed back tears. "You wanted him to do this job, then don't be surprised when he one-ups your ass. Trust me, I'm not the only one you've underestimated."

He pulled out his phone again, speaking quickly and angrily. "Abort Mayak, Stefan. You can't go there. The whole thing's blown. Pick me up now. I have to get out of here."

Yury turned back to me and spewed profanities in my face in both English and Russian. With every word, he punched and punched. I curled up into a ball on the dirt floor in order to protect myself, but we both jumped when my cell door slammed open.

Yury stepped away from me, looking to the man at the back of the room. Through narrowed eyes, I could see that he was my true kidnapper…and the carbon copy of his father: Alexander Gunter.

"Get away from him, Yury," the man ordered. "I told you, I want him alive at least until we trade him. Now, go clean yourself up and get ready to meet his son. I need this shit over and done with."

Yury backed out of the room, but the other man stayed, stepping closer. He was wearing casual, yet expensive clothes.

"I must apologize for my cousin. He tends to get…passionate," the man said slowly, smirking a little.

I frowned at the word cousin. In all my research, in all of Alice's background checks, no one had come up as anyone from my past. I would've recognized the last name Gunter.

"Ah, I can see you're a little confused. I'm Vladimir Stahl. I refuse to use my father's name. It comes with a bad reputation, you see." He placed his hand on his chest, but went on. "I'm sure you remember him, since it was you that killed him and stole his work in St. Petersburg."

"I didn't steal anything," I grunted, pushing myself back up. "And your father was a proven danger to society. He was a job to me. No more. No less."

"My father was a genius, and I wanted to continue his work. I need to show them all that he only did what they asked of him. I went to his house to talk to him, but he was dead. His journal was gone! Everything was gone! I tore the place apart looking for his work, but I accidentally burned the place down," Vladimir sighed, shaking his head. "It took me a long time to find out who asked for his death and who killed him. The man that paid you died a most gruesome death. However, my cousin was working his way up through Norilsk when I realized that my father's killer signed his damn paycheck."

Smirking, I shrugged a shoulder. "I wouldn't have sold to him."

"No, but I was able to get you into this country. That's all I needed. And I knew your history, knew what you used to do, so I took a gamble on whether your son, your old crew would help me beat that traitor, Stefan, to the punch," he said with a sneer.

I laughed, hard, though it ended in a groan from the pain. "You hired George Stefan to find your father's work? Let me guess how that turned out… He found a better, higher-paying buyer for it. I bet he left you high and fucking dry."

That seemed to piss Vladimir off. He rounded on me. "You're damn right he betrayed me. He's going to sell my father's work to the fucking North Koreans!"

Grinning, I shook my head. "Of course he is… They'll pay him three times what you were going to pay him."

We both looked up when the sound of yelling voices met our ears, even through the thick cell door. The next sound I heard made me grin: rapid gunfire…lots of it.

Vladimir ran to the door, yanking it open, but then turned to the guard, giving him an order in Russian. The guard left us quickly, engaging his weapon as he fled the room.

"Who could've found me?" Vladimir asked me, pulling out a handgun.

I chuckled low, because I could've sworn I felt the rumble of familiar chopper blades in the distance. "Well, either your cousin betrayed you…or my son is here. Either way, it looks like your little game is _fucking over_."

**~oOo~**

**BELLA**

"Oh my fucking God," Kurt muttered, punching the accelerator of the Humvee. "Edward's gonna kick my ass for this."

Mickey and I snorted, but I shook my head, saying, "No, he won't. I gave this order, Kurt."

"Pretty boy may kick all of our asses," Mickey added, grimacing a little. "We lost George Stefan."

"No offense, but Stefan isn't my priority. Carlisle is," I stated firmly, checking my weapons, ammo, and earpiece. "He was the priority of this mission from the get-go. I know we said we'd stop those bombs from being sold, and we did, but this is the reason we came over here, why we've busted our asses for the last…what? Almost three weeks."

The Humvee stayed quiet when I finished speaking, but they nodded in agreement, and I could've sworn I heard Edward mutter something, too, but I couldn't quite make it out.

"Now, Alice…tell me what you can see. Send it to me," I ordered over the com link.

"Okay, okay, okay…you've already got it," she replied instantly. "Satellite images show movement, and lots of it. From what I can tell, there's a structure of some sort out in front, then an opening to what looks like mine tunnels. Igor's searching now for old maps of this place. It hasn't been active for like twenty years or so."

"I'm a go for take-off, sweetness," Edward called over the line.

"Copy that," I murmured back, studying everything Alice was sending me.

"I'd stop up here," Emmett stated, eyeing our surroundings. "That little hill will hide us, but kill the fucking lights."

We went dark, and Kurt skidded to a stop in the dirt, saying, "Alice, you're our eyes and ears. I'm going with them."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," she chanted, but I could hear all my girls working in the background.

The four of us stayed low, glancing over the slight hill. There was an old warehouse-type building, along with the entrance to a mine off to the right. All of it was dilapidated and creepy…and busy.

"Damn, we're gonna have a fucking hard-ass time getting in there," Emmett muttered, looking through the NVGs. "Look. That building is open, it's two stories, and there are men every-damn-where."

"You know," Mickey grumbled, shaking her head. "I'm fucking tired of all this sneaking around. Can't we just go in hot?"

"Yes," Edward answered over the com link. "As soon as I reach you, we'll go in hot and heavy. Boris will cover you with the machine gun on the chopper. I'll fly low and inside, copy?"

"Roger that," Emmett sang with a grin on his face. He pulled his weapon around to his front, engaging it with a glance to us, and we followed his lead. "Mickey, Bella, take the right flank toward the mine entrance. Kurt and I will take the left to clear that blind spot out. That'll leave plenty of room for Eddie to get in there and clean house."

The thumping sound of chopper blades loomed closer. We all looked behind us, seeing only the blinking red lights of Edward's helicopter. He thundered over us, swiftly turning sideways so Boris could open fire. As soon as the first sound of gunfire rang out, we jumped over the ridge and ran down the hill, splitting up like Emmett had suggested.

"Shoot to kill, sweetness," Edward ordered. "I don't give a fuck. If it moves, shoot it."

I wanted to laugh at that order, but the closer we ran toward the mine shaft, the more men I could see using the old rundown building for cover. Mickey and I used a fallen concrete barrier as cover in order to clear out the mine entrance. The noise from the machine gun on the chopper was almost deafening, never mind the chopper itself. Edward was stirring up dust, debris, and chaos because he was flying so low.

About five men ran out of the mine, shooting blindly our way, but Mickey and I took them down. Taking off at a low run, we moved in closer.

"Fuck me, that's creepy," Mickey grunted, spinning to watch our backs. "Alice…anything on this tunnel?"

"It's not very deep!" she yelled back over the earpieces. "That's apparently why it's closed. It collapsed about a half mile inside, and since it didn't produce…"

"Alice!" we both yelled.

"Okay, okay, okay! You've got a split about fifty yards just inside the opening. The right shaft dead ends at the cave-in sight. The left isn't long at all, but if I trust the infrared, then there's heat sources that way."

"Then that's the way we're going," I told Mickey, who nodded in agreement, but we both spun around at the hissing sound of an RPG being launched.

"Edward!" I called out, watching with fear and fascination as he shot up, evading the missile aimed his way.

There was another shot and another, but Edward maneuvered quickly, flying low up and over the crumbling building the whole time Boris practically leveled that second floor. In fact, several rotten beams collapsed under the gunfire. The left side fell to the ground level in a cloud of dust.

"Emmett? Kurt? Check in! Now!" I snapped, trying my best to hear them over all the noise.

"Man down!" Emmett called. "Kurt! Talk to me, man…"

"I'm okay!" Kurt grunted, much to my relief. "It's just my leg! Go!"

Edward flew back over the building, but it was Boris that said, "I'll cover him, Emmett. Take out that second floor!"

I didn't have to see Emmett to know what was coming next. Our enemies weren't the only ones that had an RPG. The hiss and bright tail of the missile made me grab Mickey to pull her down.

The sound was unlike anything I'd ever heard. There was an explosion, followed by the thunderous crack of the second floor falling to the level below. At that point, the building was pretty much destroyed, and the guards started to scatter. Edward veered off to chase after a truck that shot out from the back of the building.

"Emmett! Get Kurt to the truck, then follow the girls!" Edward ordered.

"Copy that," Em grunted back.

"I can fucking walk, Emmett!" Kurt argued. "Jesus, would you put me down? Just go!"

I shook my head, turning to Mickey. "I want in that mine."

"Yeah, definitely," she agreed.

We both peeked over our cover, finding that things had slowed down a bit. She leaped over first, and I followed. There was little resistance before we made it inside the mouth of that tunnel. Once inside, we slowed down, using the bumpy, rocky walls as cover. It wasn't much, but it was barely lit by some dim bulbs every few yards.

The floor of the mine was taken up mostly by old, rusty train tracks that looked like they hadn't been used since the dawn of time. They sat almost submerged in water on either side of the tracks, and the air was cold, damp, foul.

We followed Alice's advice and stayed to the left when we finally came to the split. It was even darker down that shaft, but we kept going, and the sounds of gunfire and chopper blades started to sound dull and muted the farther in we went. I was just about to think we'd taken the wrong way when we started to come across metal doors. The first few were open or not even attached to their hinges, but we rounded a corner, and a faint light glowed up ahead. Along with it came the sound of muffled voices.

Mickey and I moved quicker, stopping just outside the door. Mickey used a tiny camera to peek inside. There were two forms, one clearly holding a weapon to the other one's head. I looked closer and shook my head, glancing up at Mickey's concerned face. We couldn't speak, but with silent signals, we quickly made a plan.

She stayed put against the tunnel wall. Leaving my Sig with her, I took out my nine mil. I trusted it, was a better aim with it, and this shit was going to be fucking tricky. Wrapping both hands around my gun, I stepped slowly into the doorway.

My heart shattered at the sight before me. Carlisle was a mess. It was obvious he'd been beaten. He was filthy, and bruises covered just about every inch of his face. His hands were zip-tied together, as were his ankles, which meant the man with the gun to my godfather's temple was basically holding him up…and using him as a goddamn shield. I struggled to maintain my firm posture, when all I wanted to do was rush to him. My temper flared, my lip curled, and my stomach rolled against memories of my own capture, but my hands were steady as I aimed my gun.

"I'm gonna kill this motherfucker," I muttered, mainly to myself, but everyone heard me.

I tried to ignore the explosion of voices in my ear, the loudest being Edward, who demanded an update. Mickey filled him in as softly as she could, but I focused on the man controlling the situation.

"Don't come any closer, or I'll shoot him," the man threatened. His accent was definitely Russian.

Ignoring the bastard, I focused on the most important person in the room. "Carlisle, you okay?"

He tried to nod, but his captor squeezed his throat, jerking him so that Carlisle's body was shielding him even more. I could've taken a shot, but his face was so close to my father-in-law's that I didn't want to chance it just yet. I needed to force this guy make a mistake.

"I'll let him go when you give me what you promised. I want my father's work," he snarled, pulling back the hammer on his gun.

I nodded in acknowledgement, but decided to go the honest route. "No can do, Vladimir," I told him softly. "We don't have it with us."

"Then he dies!"

"Lie, sweetness. Stall him," Edward murmured over the com link.

"We can get it, but you gotta let him go first," I told Vladimir.

He shook his head no, but his eyes grew wide when he realized I wasn't the only one with a weapon aimed his way.

Mickey stepped slowly into the dimly lit cell, her own weapon trained on the two of them. However, she started to move behind me toward my left, which made Vladimir very nervous because he couldn't quite decide who to watch.

I eyed the entire situation and stepped forward, locking gazes with Carlisle for a moment. He was so much like Edward that I knew what he was about to do, so I braced for it, pulling the hammer back on my weapon. He struggled in Vladimir's grasp, sending a heavy elbow to the man's stomach, which gave me just a short view of my enemy. I didn't even have to think about it. I popped off three shots, and Mickey shot twice. We caught Vladimir in the shoulder, the arm, and finally, the head and chest. He and Carlisle both fell to the floor. Mickey ran to Vladimir to check for a pulse, but I couldn't get to my godfather quickly enough.

"Carlisle," I barely said aloud, but that was enough to send everyone that could hear me over the com link into action.

"Bella, I'm in route on foot to you," Edward stated, his voice sounding scared, yet angry at the same time.

Emmett popped his head in the door, just to check on us, and then muttered something about meeting Edward in the tunnel.

Carlisle's breathing was heavy, but his eyes opened to mine.

"Hang on," I told him, pulling out the knife Edward had strapped to my ankle earlier. "I'm going to cut this off, okay?"

He nodded weakly, but it was the smug smile that quirked up on his lips. "I knew you'd come."

Tears welled up in my eyes at the same time I sniffled a laugh. "Are you kidding me right now?"

He snorted, but his pain-filled grunt when I cut the ties off of his legs and wrists made his laugh disappear. The sight of his torn-up skin from those restraints made me swallow back a sob.

Carlisle struggled to reach up to my face. "Don't, sweetheart. I'm okay. I'm just a little battered. You hear me?"

I nodded, swallowing thickly. "Just…hang on. Edward and Emmett are coming. We'll get you out of here and someplace safe."

"I know," he whispered back with a small smile, but his eyes drifted past me when a string of curses filled the room.

Edward rushed to us, falling to his knees beside us. He kissed my temple and placed a hand on his dad's chest. "You guys okay?" he asked, though his eyes flickered to Vladimir's body, which Mickey had tugged away.

"Yeah. We need to get him out of here, baby," I whispered to Edward, who was already nodding.

"Okay." He nodded, looking around the room. "Emmett! Get your ass over here. We're gonna carry him back to the chopper."

"Sure, Ed," Emmett replied softly.

Edward was just about to lift his dad up, when Carlisle stopped him.

"Thank you, son," he whispered, placing a hand on my husband's shoulder.

Edward nodded solemnly, saying, "You'd have done it for me. Now, let's get you out of this fucking hole."

**~oOo~**

**EDWARD**

Emmett walked to stand by me, but I leaned over my dad, asking, "Are you hurt, Dad? Can you walk?"

He nodded, sat up, but I could see he was weak. Giving Emmett a quick glance, we helped Dad to his feet, but wrapped his arms around our shoulders. Once we knew he'd be able to walk with us, we started for the door.

"Armed?" Mickey asked, eyeing the body of Vladimir Stahl with zero emotion on her face.

"Only as precaution," I replied, jerking my chin for her and Bella to lead us out. "Most of these assholes are dead. Even the car that tried to leave was eliminated." As we stepped out into the mine shaft, I added, "And watch that building. It's unsteady out there."

"Okay," Bella added, giving my dad the once-over before following Mickey.

I had to bite my bottom lip in order not to rush to her. I could see her worry, her panic just beneath the surface of things. And I knew where it was stemming from: my dad looked like shit. His face was bruised, beaten, his lips split. Both wrists were cut and bloody from having been restrained, and he was fucking filthy. I was glad the girls had shot that motherfucker before I could get my hands on him. But I knew I needed to calm her down once we got somewhere safe; her memories could send her into a panic attack, even though my dad was okay.

My dad stumbled once we got to the main tunnel, and Emmett and I stopped to check on him.

"Dad?" I asked, tilting his face my way. "Stay with me. Stay awake," I ordered, eyeing the fucking bump on his temple. "Just in case, okay?"

"I'm okay, I'm okay," he muttered, nodding a little.

We got to the exit of the mine, and the girls gave a quick sweep, but all seemed to be quiet. I'd landed just a few yards away from where Kurt had parked the Humvee. My dad stumbled a couple more times before we reached the chopper, and I had to chuckle at Boris, who had truly proven his loyalty with flying fucking colors.

He had someone bound and gagged on the ground, but was taking a look at Kurt's leg as he sat on the edge of the cargo bay. The youngest member of our crew was sweating bullets, but he looked okay. I'd seen him fall when I was in the air, but Kurt's attitude over the com link had been spirited, to say the least.

"Give us some room," I grunted.

Boris glanced up, a string of Russian words hissing out of him at the sight of my dad. "For fuck's sake, Cullen," he finally said in English. "Did you take them all on, you bastard?"

"Maybe," my dad said with a weak grin.

"I swear, he and Edward are so alike…" Bella muttered, her voice trailing off.

I snorted into a chuckle. "He was a terrible influence, sweetness."

Bella giggled a bit, but helped Kurt slide over while asking if he was okay.

"Yeah, yeah…it just nicked my thigh, Bells," he explained, fingering the rip in his cargos where a haphazard bandage was applied. "I'm just glad it wasn't a bigger fucking bullet."

"Or two more inches to the left, you ass," Mickey teased with a laugh. "Glad you're okay."

We sat my dad down on the edge of the cargo bay. The girls took a preliminary look at him. They handed him a bottle of water, cleaned his face a bit, and checked his wrists. He needed a fucking hot meal and a shower, and I knew that wasn't quite feasible – not yet, anyway. Boris asked him a few questions, and he seemed to be pleased by the answers, but he checked his eyes anyway.

"We need you out of here," he told him.

"Exactly," I agreed, spinning to Emmett. "We need to get back to Mayak. At least there, he can rest in Sergei's office until sunup. From there, we'll head back to Irina's." I walked away a bit with him. "I wanna make sure he's fit to go back to Alaska, and I wanna get with El, see what he wants to do with Gunter's bullshit. I want it out of my fucking sight."

Emmett smirked, but nodded. "I'll drive the Humvee back and meet you there."

I nodded, eyeing my father again and then my girl, who was wiping Dad's face as clean as she could with a rag and water from a drinking bottle. Finally, my gaze landed on Boris's prisoner.

"Boris?" I called, pointing to the man that had all but been forgotten. When he turned away from my dad, I asked, "Who the fuck is this?"

Boris grinned. "Say hello to Yury Spektor. I thought you'd want to meet him, considering he's mostly responsible for this shit. Caught him trying to sneak out to the main road."

"You mean, remaining _living_ fucker responsible," Mickey added. "Vladimir Stahl…well, he didn't exactly make it."

My dad gazed down at Yury with narrowed eyes. Before any of us could move, he snatched Mickey's handgun from her waistband and pulled the trigger, which nailed the guy in the thigh.

"You need him for anything?" my dad rasped, looking to me. "This was the asshole that called you."

"I figured," I told him, walking over and placing a hand on my dad's shoulder. "Did he do this shit to you?" I growled, gesturing to his face.

"Some. I took care of the other one," he answered.

I nodded, not understanding what he meant, but I was sure he'd tell us everything when he'd gotten something to eat and some rest.

I tapped my com link. "Hey, El?"

"You got him?" was the answer I received.

"Ten-four," I said with a grin. "He's seen better days, but he's okay. Mission accomplished."

"Well, hot damn!" Eleazar laughed, especially when hoots of celebration from Alec, Jasper, and Felix joined him.

"Question, El," I told him.

"Go ahead."

"I've got one Yury Spektor here. If you're gonna find George Stefan, you might be able to use this asshole for information. Want him?"

"You won't need him," Boris piped up. "I'll find Stefan…with or without this motherfucker. I'll go underground."

"Not yet," my dad stated, and Boris nodded in acquiescence.

"Perfect," I sneered, walking to the man now whimpering about his bleeding leg. I snatched him up, dragging him away from the chopper. Slamming him against the closest barrier, I snatched his gag off. "I told you from the fucking beginning not to fuck with me. I told you that I'd fucking kill you for laying a hand on my father. And I fucking told you that you had no goddamn idea how badly you'd wish it wasn't me you'd fucked with. Do you remember?" I asked him.

Yury nodded, swallowing back bile and fear and pain. His eyes were wide, but cloudy from tears.

"What's to stop me from doing to you exactly the same fucking thing you did to him? Hmm?" I murmured softly so that only he heard me. "What's to stop me from putting a bullet in your head right now?"

He shook his head.

"You underestimated me, my crew, and my father," I told him wearing an evil smirk when I forced him to look back at the chopper. "See those girls? Beautiful, right?" I asked him in a whisper. When he nodded, I leaned to his ear. "Those two killed your cousin, Vladimir. Put like…I don't know…five or six bullets in him. It was probably better than he deserved, but they didn't even blink doing it. He was dead before he hit the ground. And now…he'll rot in that giant-ass hole behind us." I tilted my head at him, sizing him up. "You double-crossed your own family, your own flesh and blood? Do you know how fucking shitty that is?"

Yury at least had the decency to look admonished. Tears spilled over onto his face, blending in with sweat and dirt. "I needed the money," he rasped, and every fucking phone call leapt to the front of my memory. He was, indeed, the asshole that had called me every single time.

I pulled my Glock out, pointing it to the middle of his forehead. "I'm going to give you a chance to rectify your mistake. Where would Stefan go to hide? Where would he disappear to?" I asked, hoping to at least give El and Boris a chance to finish off the guy intent on selling really fucking dangerous weapons to people that shouldn't have them.

"I don't know," he whispered, shaking beneath my grip to his throat. "But he's going to seek revenge. He's pissed. He was set to make fifty million on this sale."

I sighed, shaking my head. "And your cut for helping?"

"Ten," he said with a sob. "T-Ten m-million."

Smiling evilly, I tilted my head at him again. "Ten million…" I mused, taking a deep breath and letting it out. "Never mind that it was over a weapon that could essentially kill millions of innocent people, right? Never mind that it dragged my father into this shit and almost got him killed." I shook my head slowly, eyeing the wound my father had pumped into his leg. The fucker would bleed out if I left him here in the middle of no-damn-where. Suddenly, I wanted nothing more to do with him.

I lowered my weapon, gripped his throat, and slammed him hard into the barrier behind him, and he collapsed to the ground. I turned to face my crew. "Fucker's dead where he fell," I muttered, mainly to myself, but I heard him shift behind me.

Without thinking, I spun, pulling the trigger twice. Yury fell over into a heap, two holes in his chest.

"And there's that," Emmett sang, brushing off his hands dramatically.

I walked back to the chopper, saying, "Load up. Mickey, Boris, you ride with Emmett in the Humvee."

It didn't take long to get back to Mayak, only this time, I was able to land on the roof of the office building and processing center. I'd need to find fuel before heading back to Irina's, but Boris assured me the main Norilsk area had what I needed, since they had a small landing strip on the north part of the enormous property.

As the sun slowly came up, it beamed into Maslov's office. My father was resting in a room next door – someone else's office – with my wife curled up in a chair next to him as his watchful angel. Boris was down at the mine entrance with Eleazar, explaining the situation to a few of the miners. I could've sworn I heard cheers.

I picked up the tablet in front of me, connecting to a video chat. I couldn't help but smile when Alice's weary face popped up on my screen.

"You ever sleep, pixie?" I teased her, feeling extraordinarily tired after everything.

She grinned. "Only when my family is safe and sound," she said with a sad smile and a wink. "She's waiting to talk to you."

"I figured. Go get her."

When Esme's hopeful and teary face emerged on the screen, I smiled again. "I got him, Mom."

**~oOo~**

**A/N… I figured this is a good place to leave you when I take a break in updates. ;) Daddy C/Poppy is back with his crew.**

**Again, I apologize for the wait, but I'm simply swamped with RL. So forgive me. I'll be back posting teasers next Tuesday. However, I will tell you that this story isn't over. For those that have asked, it's looking at around 20 chapters, give or take. It's probably more give than take. LOL**

**All my teasers can be seen on Twitter and FB, and the links are on my profile. Feel free to check out my blog, as well. **

**Okay, see you guys in a week – next Wednesday. Until then… Mooches, Deb ;)**


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N… I need to thank you guys for hanging in there for me. Normally, I don't ask for a break between updates, so I appreciate the patience…or at least you kept your panic to a dull roar. ;) **

**I know you're itchin' to get back to Poppy, so I'll let you get to it. For those that have asked, this story is looking at about 20/21 chapters. See me at the bottom…**

**~oOo~**

**Chapter 15**

**BELLA**

Glancing up at the hissing argument I couldn't understand, I had to smile and shake my head slowly. Kurt looked admonished, yet just about to burst at the seams as Irina tore him a new one for being up and about.

When we'd returned from Norilsk, she'd opened her personal space to Carlisle and Kurt, giving them rooms of their own upstairs. Carlisle had slept for almost twenty-four hours after having showered and eaten. He'd devoured the food he'd been given, but he needed to eat again. And I wanted to check his wounds, though there weren't many. The most worrisome had been the bruises on his head and face from what he'd told us were kicks and punches. The ugliest were the cuts on his wrists from the zip-tie restraints where they'd put them on too tight, not to mention his struggling against them.

On a tray next to a basket of warm rolls and the damn first-aid kit I'd taken from the chopper, I set a bowl of soup that Irina's grandmother had made.

"Bells!" Kurt whined, looking to me for help. When I lifted the tray and glanced over, he said, "Tell her I'm fine. Tell her I'm okay to move around."

My chuckle was low and soft. "Technically, you could open that wound up again coming down those stairs, Mack Daddy," I teased him, grinning when he narrowed his eyes at me from the kitchen table.

Irina harrumphed in triumph at him, saying, "Which is _exactly_ what I said."

"Traitor," he sneered at me under his breath, which only made me laugh again.

I wanted to tell him she was simply trying to take care of him, but I could see I was all but forgotten as Irina fussed over him. For a brief moment, I wondered if he'd be making the trip back with us once Carlisle was strong enough, which according to him was "as soon as fucking possible."

I toted the tray up the stairs, shaking my head at deep voices and argumentative curses meeting my ears – one of them I recognized as my husband's. Carlisle's room was the last one at the end of the hallway, and the door stood open. Inside were Eleazar, Boris, and Edward, sitting around the room, with Carlisle propped up in bed on a big pile of pillows.

He looked worse, simply because the bruises were now a deeper shade of purple and the split on his lip had cracked and bled sometime recently. However, the sharpness of his dark blue eyes was back in full force as he glared at Boris.

"You owe me nothing, you old coot," he snapped, shaking his head. "You go after Stefan, you're looking at some serious fucking trouble. Let it go, Boris."

"Absolutely not. You know he'll get the uranium elsewhere for his sale," Boris snapped.

"He's protected by his customers," Eleazar concurred. "They'll want him to stay free and accessible. I've already called him into the agency and MI-6, who told me they'd already been following him. He's on a hot-watch list now. If he shows his face, makes a phone call, or buys a plane ticket, I'm gonna hear about it. I have a team looking for him. There's no need for you to take to the underground…"

"Enough," I stated, walking into the room. "You boys can argue later."

Edward chuckled low, sitting back in the chair at his father's side. Everyone was now dressed in casual, comfortable clothes – jeans, sweatshirts, sweaters – except for Carlisle, who was sporting Edward's sweats.

Eleazar opened his mouth to say something, and I rounded on him with a raised eyebrow. "Later," I snapped. "You guys can stop international criminal assholes any fucking time. Give it a rest. He just woke up."

Carlisle snorted, shaking his head. "I'd do as she says."

I ignored Edward's adamant nod and wide-eyed silent warning, setting the tray down in Carlisle's lap. Once Boris and Eleazar left the room, muttering about coming back later, I rounded on my Cullen men. My heart settled a little at having them in the same room again. They were so alike, yet opposite at the same time. Both looked at me with so much love and respect that I couldn't help but kiss them both – Edward on his lips and Carlisle on his forehead.

"Eat," I ordered the latter. "Then I wanna change those bandages." I pointed to his wrists.

"Yes, ma'am," he replied, sounding like Edward when he was simply appeasing me.

I smirked, but went into the bathroom for a clean cloth, and I glanced up through the open door as I stood at the sink, listening as Edward and Carlisle talked softly.

"What do you _really_ wanna do about Stefan?" Edward asked, sitting forward in his chair and bracing his elbows on his knees.

Carlisle took a spoonful of soup, seemingly thinking it over. "I'm not sure. Alexander Gunter's work was way ahead of its time. It's worth every penny he was planningto sell it for, but Eleazar is going to disassemble the missile casings and have them melted down. He's personally going to oversee the uranium's transport to Canada in order for it to be converted into medicinal radiation."

They spoke softly of releasing the responsibility of everything over to Eleazar. I didn't say anything. Despite the fact that I was beyond ready to see my kids, that Esme was practically chomping at the bit to put her hands on Carlisle, I knew that Stefan could possibly still be a threat out there. I was willing to concede to the two men in the room.

I sat on the edge of the bed, opened the first aid kit, and pulled out what I'd need. The sound of their voices was comforting to me, something that stemmed back from the moment they'd pulled me from Miller's basement. They could be discussing anything – sports, world politics, vinyl siding, the migration of birds. I didn't care. There weren't two people on the planet that made me feel as safe as Edward and his dad. So I soaked it up like a sponge, sitting in content silence as the two of them put their separate journeys together like a puzzle.

"So Boris had Gunter's journal all along," Edward surmised, stealing one of Carlisle's rolls and taking a bite.

"Yeah, he took it when we took the hit on Gunter. At the time, it didn't matter…at least, we didn't think so," Carlisle said, taking a big bite of bread and butter after dunking it into his soup. "I assumed he'd sold it, but I suppose he kept it all these years. Apparently, Gunter's son came looking for it, spiraling into a fit of rage when he found not only his father dead, but his life's work missing. He burned the house down."

"So that's why Vladimir assumed you'd stolen it." Edward snorted, rolling his eyes.

Carlisle nodded, but finished his meal, pushing the tray away. I started to get up to take it back downstairs, but Edward stopped me.

"I got it, sweetness," he murmured, grabbing the whole thing with one strong hand and leaning down to kiss the top of my head. "Do what you do, baby. I'll be right back."

"'Kay, thanks," I sighed with a smile, but scooted closer to Carlisle in order to start checking his face. "I know I'm not Esme, but I've cleaned enough skinned knees and elbows to get the job done," I teased my godfather.

"I'm sure you'll do fine, sweetheart," Carlisle said with a chuckle.

His warm eyes stayed on me as I cleaned his lip, a cut below his eye, and checked the bump on his temple; I was pleased to see that it had shrunk significantly. I applied ointment to the small injuries, moving on to the worst part: his wrists.

Cutting off the old bandages, my heart squeezed at the angry red cuts before me. As gently as I could, I cleaned them with a cloth, disinfected them, and applied antibacterial ointment as best I could with shaky hands.

"The roles have reversed, Bella," he stated in a whisper.

I huffed a humorless laugh, unable to look at his face as I grabbed a new roll of gauze. "We should cover them now, but soon, you'll need to air them out." I didn't realize my breathing was harsh until I tried to speak again. "It'll…I mean…There's gonna be scars…"

"Hey, Bella?" Carlisle soothed me, tilting my head up with his fingers under my chin. "Breathe, sweetheart. It's okay. _I'm_ okay. It's not the same…"

"I'm so sorry…I love you," I wheezed, gripping his sleeve. "We tried…"

My vision blackened and blurred. I could feel Carlisle's arms wrap around me, hear him call for Edward, but my mind went to places I'd done my best to forget. Memories of cuts, burns, and restraints filled my head. Harsh, threatening words hissed in my ear, and as much as I fought them, they took over anyway.

I was transferred from one set of strong arms to another, and the very second Edward's soft, sweet, soothing voice met my ears, a tidal wave of emotions erupted from me. I clung to him fiercely, burying my face in his neck. His scent was everything to me at the moment – soap, fresh-cut wood...and just Edward.

"Sweetness, listen to my voice," he said, doing what he always did when my panic attacks were in full swing – giving me his touch and his constant encouragement. "You're right here with me. You're okay. Dad's okay. Don't let it win, baby. You're so fucking strong. You hear me?"

It was wave after wave of soft touches and sweet words. Eventually, the darkness of a smelly, cold basement faded away and the warmth of the bedroom we were in came back into focus. Clammy hands disappeared, and warm, soothing ones replaced them. I focused on the gentle caresses up and down my back, through my hair, and along my arms. Kisses and whispers against my neck tethered me back to reality.

"I'm sorry," I sniffled into Edward's neck.

"Don't be," he whispered back, dropping more kisses to my jaw. "I was kinda surprised it took this long…" His voice trailed off, but he cupped either side of my face. "Sweetness, lemme see you."

I let him pull me back a little, but my fingers still had a tenacious grip on his shirt. He smiled so patiently and sweetly that the tears started again.

"Shh," he hushed against my lips as his thumbs swiped at my tears. "You're okay. No harm done, baby."

I looked around, realizing that Edward had moved me to the chair he'd been in, and a glance back to Carlisle made me hiccup another sob.

"Don't you dare apologize to me, Bella," he told me firmly, and his voice was calm, yet worried.

I nodded looking back to Edward. "Thank you."

He smiled my favorite sweet, lopsided smile. "Anytime. N-Now…I-I w-want t-to g-get y-you o-out o-of h-here f-for a-a b-bit, so tell Dad to get some rest, 'cause his stubborn ass doesn't listen to me."

A giggle escaped me before I could stop it, which caused both men to chuckle…most likely in relief. That sweet stutter added into the constant teasing from Edward and Carlisle had helped me finally take a deep breath and let it out slowly.

I extricated myself from Edward's embrace and leaned over to hug Carlisle. When I pulled back, he held my face in his hands like I was made of spun glass.

"Never, ever apologize to me," he started, raising a dangerous eyebrow. When I nodded, he went on. "Trust me when I tell you that it was the thought of you that got me through. Am I clear? It was _your_ strength, _your_ survival of something way fucking worse that gave me the strength to keep going. So don't. I don't want apologies from you, Isabella." He glanced over at his son, but then back to me. "I knew you'd come for me…both of you. I knew you'd do anything to get to me. That was what I held onto. I love you both and owe the two of you a huge debt of gratitude."

"Fuck that," Edward grumbled, shaking his head. "You don't owe us shit. What you need is rest so that I can get you back to Esme like I fucking promised."

Carlisle grinned, ignoring Edward's prickly response, but I knew they both loved each other fiercely.

Giggling again, I kissed Carlisle's cheek. "Yeah, before she sends Lock and Load to hunt you down." When I stood up straight, I felt Edward's arms wrap around me from behind, and I leaned back against him. "It's a long flight back, so I'd like you rehydrated and a touch stronger before we make it."

Carlisle simply smiled and nodded, sinking down into the bed. Once he looked like he was going to nod off, Edward led me from the room, closing the door when we got to the hallway.

"C'mon, Bella," he urged me, linking our fingers together. "I wasn't kidding. We're getting out of here for a little while."

"Where to?" I asked, thinking we were in the middle of nowhere.

Edward merely grinned secretively, shrugging a shoulder. "You'll see." He guided me down the stairs and outside onto Irina's front porch. "You ever ridden a motorcycle?"

I laughed, but his face was sincere. "Wait. What?"

His handsome face cracked into a wide grin. "Have you?"

My brow furrowed, but I nodded. "Yeah, a long time ago. Jake had one for a while."

Edward scoffed, muttering under his breath. I caught the words _cheating,_ _bastard,_ and _chicken-shit._

"Shut it." I laughed, poking his chest. "Why do you ask?"

He rolled his eyes and grabbed my hand, saying, "Just…trust me."

**~oOo~**

**EDWARD**

It had been years – way before Bella and the kids – since I'd ridden a bike, but apparently, it was something I hadn't forgotten. The day was cool, clear, crisp as we tore down a fairly empty road on one of Eleazar's motorcycles that he'd stored in the hangar back at Irina's. It had been his idea to take it in the first place, and he'd told me exactly where to go when I'd taken Dad's tray downstairs.

I veered off the main road onto a smaller path, smiling at the sight before us as I stopped the bike and set the kickstand.

"Wow," Bella breathed, taking off her helmet, which caused her chocolate locks to spill down around her shoulders.

The spot he'd told me about didn't even seem real. Everything that we'd seen up to this point had been dirty, worn down, scroungy, but this was beautiful. A tiny lake sat so still that it looked like a mirror, and its backdrop was some rocky, snow-capped mountains. The air was clean – no metallic-smelling mines, no exhaust fumes like Moscow, and no pollution. And it was so fucking quiet. Mickey and Emmett weren't bickering, Kurt wasn't endlessly flirting with Irina, Jasper wasn't Skyping with Alice, but mostly, there were no gunshots, yelling, or explosions.

For the first time since we'd arrived over here, I took a deep breath and let it out before standing up off the bike. I reached down for Bella, setting her on the ground.

"Eleazar wasn't fucking kidding," I muttered, reaching for the bag I'd asked Bella to carry. I glanced at my watch and smiled. "Right on time," I told her. "C'mon, sweetness."

"What are you up to?" she asked, smirking up at me.

"You'll see."

We walked together down the sloping terrain, finding a small trail that looked like it went all the way around the tiny lake. I found us a shady spot under a pine, and Bella helped me spread out a blanket. Once I'd sat down with my back against the trunk of the tree, I pulled my girl down between my legs.

"Now, let's see if I can do this right," I muttered, frowning at the equipment in front of me.

I didn't hate technology, but the others were just better at it. I attached a cable to the tablet from the satellite phone, syncing up to the video chat. I'd asked Alice to give the kids one of the tablets, simply so we could see them, tuck them in. It seemed like forever since we'd been able to just talk to them.

Bella's giggle made me smile and kiss the back of her head, especially when the faces on the screen came into focus.

"Mommy! Daddy!" both Sammy and Bethy practically screamed.

"It's bedtime for little soldiers, isn't it?" I asked them with a chuckle.

"Yes, sir!" they said, scrambling around.

Bella laughed again when our kids squished together in the bottom bunk at Aunt Kate's. "God, I miss you guys," she said softly, her hand balling up into a fist like she wished she could just reach out and touch them.

"Miss you, too, Mommy," Sammy said with a grin. "When you comin' home?"

"Soon, guys. Promise," I vowed.

Bethy's eyes widened, simply because she could read me as well as her mother. "You found Poppy?"

Bella and I laughed, but Bella said, "We did!"

"Yay!" they both cheered, and the tablet went a little crazy as they rustled around in the bed.

My daughter steadied it again, saying, "I wanna see him. When can we?"

"Not yet, baby," Bella soothed. "He's resting right now, but we hope to leave soon."

"Good," Sammy stated seriously.

"So what've we missed?" I asked them, kissing Bella's head again.

"Oh! Daddy, guess what!" Bethy gasped, and she was all things wide-eyed and innocent.

"What, little sweetness?"

"Goliath is a daddy!"

"What?" I asked with a laugh. "Seriously?"

"Yeah! Mary had a baby horse," Sammy answered with a giggle.

"A foal," Bella and I corrected at the same time.

"He's so _cute_!" Bethy gushed. "He's black like Goliath, but has a white stripe down his nose. And he was all wobbly the first day. He looked like Bambi."

"Did you guys name him yet?" Bella asked.

"Yup!" Sammy nodded firmly. "Aunt Kate gave us a choice, and we all voted. His name is Noah."

"And the biblical theme continues," I sang in Bella's ear, which made her laugh. "Soon she'll have the whole old testament covered."

Bella elbowed me, but turned back to the kids. "Tell us what else we've missed."

We let the kids chatter on and on. It was a sound I missed with my entire being. They told us about games they'd played, times they'd gotten into trouble for tracking through Aunt Kate's garden, that Lock and Load finally caught the rabbit they'd been obsessed with since landing in Alaska, and how Sarah and Aunt Kate had taken all the kids into Anchorage to the movies. Finally, Sammy gave a big, wide, long yawn, blinking bleary-eyed at the screen.

"Time for bed, handsome," Bella crooned to him, and her smile was sweet, yet a bit sad. "You, too, pretty girl."

"Under the covers, soldiers," I ordered as if I were there.

"Yes, sir." They both shifted and giggled at the same time.

"Only sweet dreams."

"Love you, Daddy," Sammy said through another yawn. "I can't wait 'til you're home."

"Me, too, buddy," I told him honestly.

"Love you both," Bella told them.

"Love you, Mommy," they sang back. "Be safe!"

With that said, we ended the chat, and I disconnected the satellite phone, stashing it all back in the bag. Bella turned in my arms, straddling my lap.

"Thank you," she sighed against my lips as she held my face in her hands.

Chuckling, I kissed her back. "That was for me just as much as for you."

"I swear, when we get back, I'm wrapping them both up and hiding us all in our room for like twenty-four hours just so I can love them to pieces," Bella vowed with a silly grin.

"Sounds like a plan, sweetness."

I simply stared up at her beautiful face for a moment. A light breeze through the trees was the only sound heard. It blew a lock of her hair across her face, and I reached up to tuck it behind her ear. Her eyes looked lighter, but still tired.

"Wanna talk about what happened back in Dad's room?" I asked her softly.

She'd scared the fucking shit out of me. It wasn't so much the panic attack, or the sound of my dad's voice calling me from upstairs, but the force in which it had hit her. She'd clung to me as hard as the day I'd pulled her from Miller's fucking dungeon…and that shit wasn't cool.

Bella's eyes dropped between us, and she fiddled with the zipper of my jacket. "I'm sorry about that."

Tilting her face up, I said, "Don't be sorry, Bella, but if you need to talk about it, we will. Here…where no one can hear us."

She smiled a soft, sad smile, giving our surroundings a long slow gaze. "This is so pretty," she sighed, and to me, it sounded a little relieved. When her eyes looked back to me, she wrinkled her nose adorably. "You kinda thought it was coming…"

"I did, baby, but that's okay," I soothed her, smiling when her forehead fell to mine.

"It was a touch of reverse déjà vu. Even your dad said it…that the roles were reversed. He's gonna have scars on his wrists, Edward," she admitted in a whisper. I opened my mouth to speak, but she stopped me with a kiss. "It's not his fault. It was the sight of his injuries. I thought I was okay, and I wanted to take care of him, but he was…and the skin looked…" Her rambling sputtered to a halt, and she sagged in defeat. "Yeah," was all she ended with, making me chuckle.

"Love you, sweetness." It was all I could say.

"Love you, too, Edward."

"As long as you're okay, that's all that's important to me. You know that, right?" I asked her, wrapping my arms all the way around her so that our bodies were flush.

She nodded, reaching up to take my baseball cap off. Her fingers clawed deliciously through my hair, and she giggled when I moaned out loud. "You know," she purred, leaning in to kiss my chin, my jaw, and finally my earlobe, "we're completely alone out here."

"We are?" I gasped dramatically, narrowing my eyes at her, only to give the lake behind her a quick glance. "I never would've noticed, sweetness."

"Shut up." Her laugh was loud, carefree, and music to my fucking ears after her panic attack.

I moved quickly, rolling us so that I was pinning her down onto the blanket under the shade. Dark hair spread out across blue plaid, and I kissed her. It was slow and deep, thanking her for helping me find my dad, for having patience when mine was gone, and for being brave when I knew she wasn't always feeling it.

When I pulled away from her, we were both breathing heavy, but Bella's eyes were dark, sexy, and a bit more relieved. "So…what should we do with all this privacy, Bella?" I asked her.

"I don't know. But keep kissing me like that, and I'm sure we'll come up with an idea or two," she ordered, pulling me by my neck to kiss me again.

Chuckling, I answered her with a simple, "Yes, ma'am."

**~oOo~**

The sun was setting behind some low mountains when I stopped for gas on the way back to Irina's. I was pretty fucking convinced my wife could get me to do just about anything as we took a seat in a small bar. And I do mean _small_. The bar itself maybe held six stools, and there were a couple of tables, most of which were pretty full. A radio played softly from a shelf behind the bar.

"Aw, hell," I groaned, giving the rest of the patrons a glance.

It was obviously full of hard-working men having a cold one at the end of the day, not that I blamed them one damn bit. Hell, I needed one myself. However, they were the foundation of this tiny village we'd stopped in and were apparently starved for pretty brunette scenery, because every last one of them drank in the sight of Bella as she shrugged out of her jacket.

"You know, we're probably the only English-speaking fuckers in here," I murmured to her, raising an eyebrow at her, "which means if someone gets stupid, they won't understand why I'm kicking their ass."

"Shut up, Edward," she said with a silly laugh that made her cheeks blush.

Maybe I was still reeling from the stellar blowjob she'd given me back at the lake. In fact, her lips were still red and bruised and swollen – from my cock and my kisses. When she made me come like a fucking freight train, I'd kissed the ever-loving shit out of her, only to return the favor with my hand…because she'd begged for it. Again, the woman could get me to do anything she damn well wanted. Probably because she gave said stellar blowjobs.

I grinned at my own inner musings, but turned to her when she elbowed me.

"What's funny?"

"Nothing," I said with a chuckle, looking up when an older woman approached us. When Bella ordered two beers in Russian, my eyebrows raised up. "Irina?" I asked.

She giggled. "No, a translator app on my phone."

I kissed her forehead, wrapping my arm around her shoulders. "Damn, baby… When was the last time we just stopped for a fucking beer?"

"Just us?" she asked, and I nodded. "I don't know. Long time. We've always had to get home to the kids."

Smiling, I nodded. We'd started a family early. Bethy had been a surprise, but I'd never, ever call her a mistake or an oops. She may have been unexpected, but she'd been a gift – my little sweetness, a mini-Bella. Not long after was lots of work through Gravity, and we'd been balls-deep in trying to find Bethy's kidnapper when we found out about Samuel. I wouldn't trade them for anything, and I missed them like fucking crazy. They seemed to complete Bella and me in a way I'd never expected.

"You're thinking awfully hard over there, Cullen," Bella teased, reaching up to rub the wrinkle between my brows. "Do you—"

"If you fucking ask me about regrets, sweetness," I growled low, narrowing my eyes playfully at her, "I will have no shame in putting you over my knee in front of all these people, God, and everyone."

Bella grinned. "Promises…"

"Don't tempt me, Isabella," I warned her.

"You're a tease, Edward," she sighed, nudging me. "Anyone ever tell you that?"

"Uhh…no." I leaned in to whisper in her ear. "I'm a sure thing, sweetness. You should know that by now; I always follow through. You want a spanking? I'll tear that sweet ass up. You just say the word."

Her grin was accompanied by a sexy as hell bite to her bottom lip. "Not hard…just to sting."

"Whatever you want, baby," I sang with an evil grin before sipping my beer.

"Note to self," she whispered, pretending to add it to her calendar.

Chuckling at just how much I loved this flirty, much more relaxed Bella, I kissed her and then took another sip of the beer in front of me. I'd have to nurse that bad boy; it was strong – more like an ale than a beer.

"I'm ready to get the fuck outta here, though, Bella. That's for sure," I admitted, grimacing a little.

"Me, too," she sighed, sipping her own beer. "What's your dad say about this Stefan guy?"

"He's pretty sure – and Alec agrees with him – that Stefan wasn't behind his kidnapping. They both say it's not this guy's style. And considering what the man does for a living, I'm inclined to agree with them," I explained to her. "As far as I'm concerned, we did what we came to do. We got Dad back." I shrugged a shoulder, looking over at her. "But I can't just—"

"I know, I know. We can't just bolt now, if there's another part left to clean up."

"Exactly," I agreed. "I'm kind of with El on this one. He wants to take it over, and I wanna let him, but again, I don't want to leave him high and dry. Apparently, this Stefan guy has been selling shit all over the world, selling to people he shouldn't. Technically, he's American, so he's El's responsibility. Boris is fighting my dad about helping."

"By going underground… I heard him." She nodded, looking to me. "That's dangerous. If they sniff him out, he could get killed," Bella said with a shake to her head.

"Which is why Dad's telling him no."

"So I guess we're waiting on Carlisle for this one?" she asked.

I took a deep breath and let it out, sipping my beer. "To be honest, sweetness, I'm just happy he's back to make that sort of decision. If he'd been in charge of this one, I'm pretty fucking sure we wouldn't have run into so many roadblocks." I peeled the label on my beer, but a small, warm hand covered mine.

"Edward, sweetheart, look at me," she whispered, and when I did as she asked, she smiled. "You did amazing. I know you were worried about me coming along, but I never once felt like I wasn't protected, you know?"

My eyes glanced around us again as I nodded that I'd heard her. For the most part, we'd been forgotten by the patrons of the little bar, except for a young guy sitting on the last stool. For some reason, his dopey smile reminded me of Jacob Black, and I was ready to get the fuck back.

"You ready, sweetness?" I asked, reaching for my wallet. I tossed some money down onto the table and stood up, holding Bella's jacket for her. Once she was in, I linked our fingers together and led her outside to the bike. Before she could get on, I wrapped my arms around her. "Thank you, Bella. For saying that in there. B-But I-I h-honestly d-don't kn-know i-if I-I'd h-have g-gotten th-through h-half th-this sh-shit w-without y-you."

Bella leaned into me, turning her head so that she could kiss my cheek. "Yeah, you would have, but I'm glad you didn't have to."

I gave her another squeeze before turning her around and lifting her up onto the bike. "C'mon, love. We'll get back and check on Dad."

**~oOo~**

Morning dawned to another crisp, clear day. I sipped a cup of coffee, thinking if we were to fly out today, the skies would be just about fucking perfect, but no one had made a decision yet. I set my mug down and picked up a wrench, walking out to the chopper. I needed to remove the machine gun out of the cargo bay. It didn't take long, and soon, I was lugging stand and weapon back inside the hangar to store with the rest of Eleazar's cache.

My eyebrows rose up in shock at the sight before me.

"No, no, _Bellisima_," Alec said with a chuckle and a slight shake of his head. "Your body needs to be to the side, _then_ pull back and release…"

I leaned against the nearest pole, folding my arms across my chest as Bella tried shooting a bow and arrow. And it wasn't exactly some cheap fucking toy, either. The bow in my wife's hands was complicated and high-tech and deadly looking. She aimed toward the other end of the hangar at a makeshift target made up of what looked like a burlap sack with one of the paper targets we'd used when practicing with the Sig. She let go, and that fucker was pure silence until it nailed the silhouette somewhere around the shoulder area.

"Damn, this would've been helpful in Norilsk," Bella muttered, grinning over at me. "I want one."

"I bet you do, _Robin Hood_." I chuckled, "but God help the next cheater we take on."

"No shit," Alec agreed with a laugh.

"You take that one, Bella," Eleazar told her from the table in the living area. "It's all yours. Take the arrows, too. There's a shit-load of them over there."

Bella squeaked in happiness, and she rushed to kiss him on the cheek before running to grab the rest of the arrows.

"She's too easy to spoil," Eleazar said with a smile.

"Who're _you_ tellin'?" I asked rhetorically, rolling my eyes.

Alec laughed, squeezing my shoulder, but we joined El at the table. Peter's wife had dropped off enough food to feed an army, everything from eggs and sausage, to fried chicken and potatoes.

"Kid, you should know that Kurt will be staying here when we finally leave," Alec stated. His smile was filled with amusement, but the decision wasn't a surprise. "He's gonna finish out the week here, and then Peter's gonna fly him and Irina to Alaska."

"Really?" I asked, not expecting Irina to leave her farm, and I looked to Eleazar, who knew her best.

"Yeah, I figured it would happen eventually," he explained, smiling when the rest of the crew started to trickle in from their small rooms. "She only came back here when her father was ill. Peter can take care of their grandmother, but I'm damn sure Irina misses the States. Plus, she really does like that kid."

Bella giggled, sitting next to me. "He's pretty easy to like."

"Do we know when we're leaving?" I asked, looking between El and Alec.

"Your dad's trying to convince Boris to return to Alaska with us, to get out of Russia for a bit. I'm not sure how that conversation ended last night," Alec replied, shrugging a shoulder. "Those are two stubborn old men."

Smirking, I simply nodded. I could well imagine. Boris seemed pretty fucking intent on getting revenge – or maybe it was preemptive – on George Stefan. My dad, who knew Stefan was merely a businessman, was ready to get the hell out of Dodge, but only if he was sure the last piece of the puzzle was well on its way to being captured.

"You're taking over?" I asked El. "I mean, I know Felix took the casings last night. He's heading to Turkey, right?"

"Yeah, Ed. He knows some people down there that'll destroy those casings, and I'm gonna head out in a few hours. I'll make my way back to Moscow, meet up with some operatives that are undercover there, and then we'll start to follow Stefan's trail. Felix will meet me when he's finished."

"And the uranium?" Bella asked, stealing my cup of coffee with a funny little smirk on her face and then taking a sip.

"I'm taking possession of the crate. We've already removed the trackers and the cameras, and before it's shipped off to Canada to be converted, we may need to use it as bait," Eleazar stated, shrugging a shoulder. "I don't like having it, but my bosses are pretty adamant that we keep it."

Jasper chuckled, holding up a hand. "Never mind, don't tell us. We don't wanna know what the CIA wants with that uranium, do we?"

El grinned. "No, probably not."

I actually felt better that Eleazar was taking control of the Stefan situation, but it all fell to whatever my dad decided to do. If he wanted to stay in Russia and help, we'd follow that order, but if he was ready to hand it over to his brother-in-law, then I was more than okay with that.

Bella stood up, saying, "I'm gonna go check on Carlisle, see if he's up yet."

I stood up to go with her, but my father's booming voice echoed from the open hangar doors.

"Where the fuck is he?" he yelled, walking with Kurt, who still had a hell of a limp and looked rather frightened of my father at the moment.

"Who, Dad?" I asked as I walked to him.

"Boris! I told him not to run off to Moscow, but the Humvee's gone," my dad said, and he was so fucking pissed. "Stupid, stubborn bastard…"

My dad looked better after several good meals and some decent sleep. His ribs were tender, so he walked carefully, but I could tell he was going to run full-throttle from this point on.

"Carlisle," Bella said, guiding him to a chair and making him sit down. "Boris was determined to help you. You should know that. He feels he owes you," she explained to him, using the same calm tone she used with the kids when they were upset, I noted with a touch of amusement.

My dad scoffed, rolling his eyes. "He's more than repaid that debt. His helping you was plenty."

"Maybe, but he doesn't quite see it that way," I sighed, pointing to Eleazar. "El's taking the uranium today. Felix has already left with the missile casings. This Stefan guy has to start from scratch to get his buyers what they need. Hell, maybe we'll luck out and the North Koreans will take care of him for us for not delivering on time. And Boris… Well, he's kinda on his own, so… What do you wanna do, Dad?"

He sat for a moment, his brow furrowing as he shook his head slowly. He gazed unseeingly around at all of us. Not one of us would dare tell him we were ready to go home. He knew. He could see it in Jasper's steady gaze as he rubbed his bottom lip, in Mickey's fidgeting as she took small glances at her phone, most likely sneaking peeks at pictures of Obie and Kaitlyn. Emmett's leg bounced impatiently at the table. Alec, Bella, and I simply waited.

Eleazar chuckled softly. "Carlisle, go home. Go, so my sister doesn't kick my ass for keeping you. I swear, I'll keep in touch, if I have to send encrypted messages to Alice."

My dad sagged a little, but pointed a finger at him. "If you think for one second…"

"If I need you, I swear, I'll call you," El vowed, holding up his hand.

Bella finally sat in front of him. "Carlisle, you haven't seen the changes at Aunt Kate's," she told him, raising an eyebrow. "We can monitor from there. Trust me." She glanced over her shoulder at Eleazar, saying, "Though, if El would be so kind as to put a tracker on, that would be most helpful."

He grinned, nodding, and waved her on.

My dad glanced between them, and I could see that she'd given him reassurance, but Bella could usually calm him when no one else could – like she did with me. He finally took a deep breath and let it out. And I saw that he, too, really just wanted to go home, but his sense of honor and duty was holding him here. The promise Bella had just made to him gave him back a feeling of control. He trusted her, trusted the girls, and knew that if El really needed him, he'd call.

He nodded once, looking to me. "We leave on your order, son."

Smiling, I gripped his shoulder. "Ten-four, Dad."

**~oOo~**

**A/N… I'll say this again…this story isn't over. There's more to come.**

**Again, thanks for hanging in there while I got caught up. I'm not exactly where I'd like to be, but if I need another break, you'll have fair warning. My RL is swamped at the moment, and I'm doing my best to keep up with everything. Bear with me if I can't.**

**My pic teasers are always up on my blog, FB, and Twitter. All those links can be found on my profile. I'll see you guys Sunday. Until then… Mooches, Deb **


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N… You guys are amazing. I need to thank all of you for your patience, and for your encouragement should I need another break. THANK YOU.**

**Ahh, and most of you were a little disappointed about the fade to black at the little lake. C'mon, now…a little faith. I've got this! ;) I aim to please with a little lovin'…so I'll let you get to it. I've been told this needs a happy tissue warning, so…**

**~oOo~**

**Chapter 16**

**BELLA**

There was something settling about crossing the small stretch of ocean and seeing Alaska on the horizon. It had been a stressful couple of days. Carlisle had given Edward the power of when we were set to leave Irina's, and my husband loaded us all up the next day. We'd said goodbye to Eleazar, who was driving off to Moscow to meet up with other CIA operatives in search of George Stefan, and goodbye to Kurt, who was still healing – but really, he just wanted a couple more days with Irina. They both would be joining us at Aunt Kate's by the end of the week, which was five days away.

The flight home was much like the one heading in: several stops at small airports for fuel and at least one night so Edward could rest his eyes. Carlisle was still quite sore, though he was getting stronger. So it seemed to take longer going home than it had coming over, but really, it was the same travel time.

The sun had risen in Alaska to a bright day, and if we continued on the way we were, we'd arrive at Aunt Kate's mid-morning. Rose had already sent me a picture of all the kids watching our progress via the GPS trackers. I'd laughed, shown Carlisle, and told him all about how Alice wanted to be able to keep watch over us without the possibility of something going awry, like with his watch.

Carlisle shifted restlessly next to me, and I turned to look at him.

"What do the kids know?" he asked softly, but everyone inside the chopper heard him over their headsets.

"Your oldest grandchild figured out something went wrong before we even left Alaska," I told him, smirking at his chuckle. "Bethy basically called us out on it the day we were leaving."

Edward's deep chuckle echoed over the radio, but Carlisle grinned, saying, "Fair enough."

"They don't know details, just that you were in trouble, though I don't know how you'll explain your appearance," I continued, gesturing to the bruises on his face. "And your grandson's biggest concern was a promise you made to him about camping."

We all laughed at Carlisle's proud smile, but I glanced up to the pilot seat, keeping to myself the fact that his son had promised his children he'd deliver Poppy back safe and sound, come hell or high water. I wondered for a moment if that promise was more to his kids or to Edward himself.

"Yes, yes…I plan on keeping that promise," Carlisle said with a bit of a chuckle to his voice. "Though, they made _me_ promise that everyone was to come. They wanted the whole shebang: tents, campfires, s'mores, sleeping bags, even ghost stories. I'd told Aunt Kate to get everything they'd need."

"I'm sure she did," Mickey chortled. "No offense, but you gotta give me at least a couple of days in a civilized environment before you drag my ass camping. Like Aunt Kate's cookin', a long-ass bubble bath, and I need to drown myself in my family. I've missed the shit out of Obie and Kaitlyn."

Carlisle's eyes crinkled at the corners, but I could see the sadness in them, especially when he looked to me. "Sorry," he said softly.

"Don't be. You couldn't have known that a business deal you were working on now was connected to anything from so long ago," I told him, waving his apology away. "We were able to talk to everyone back home when we had a minute."

"And Esme?" he asked me, looking nervous for the first time since we'd started making our way home.

"I'm not going to lie to you, Carlisle," I said, grimacing a little. "She was a mess when you were taken. She panicked, and it was all Edward could do to keep her focused on getting to the airport."

Carlisle's head spun toward the pilot seat, but Edward's posture stayed ridged.

"Relax, _Poppy_," Emmett said over the headset with a big grin. "She'll probably just smack the piss out of you and then kiss you."

"Like father, like son," Mickey added, and the whole chopper cracked the fuck up, including Edward, who shot a quick wink back my way, his ears turning pink when Alec punched his shoulder.

Carlisle looked confused, but didn't ask, so I told him anyway.

"Your _son_," I started, raising a dangerous eyebrow at my husband's back, even though he couldn't see it, "let his mouth write checks his ass couldn't cash. It almost got him a bullet in the head."

"Nah, it didn't," Jasper drawled slowly, shaking his head. "Close, but no cigar. I had it covered."

"Whatever…" I waved a hand at him. "Anyway, he caught some serious hell when he got back."

Carlisle grinned and nodded, but we all shut up when Edward softly called in to Alice.

"Pixie, we're about twenty minutes from your location. Preparing to land," Edward stated.

"Copy that, copy that, copy that!" she chanted, but there was a squeak of excitement to her tone that made us all smile.

None of us said another word; we simply absorbed the scenery as Aunt Kate's drew closer and closer while Edward descended to his landing pad. He set us down gently, powering down the chopper. But it was the sight of the welcoming committee that made me rush to unbuckle my seatbelt, slam open the bay door, and leap from the chopper. I couldn't get to my kids quickly enough.

Bethy was decked out in red: red hoodie, red Chucks, and red bands on the ends of her braids. Sammy, however, looked like his father's clone in a navy blue Air Force hoodie and backwards baseball cap. And damn it, if it didn't look like they'd grown an inch or two, or maybe I was just imagining it since being gone so long.

"Mommy!" Sammy squealed, rushing to me.

Falling to my knees, I received them both with open arms. I just needed to _feel_ them, touch them. They smelled like heaven – like sunshine and hay, sugar and whatever shampoo they'd used last. They smelled like Aunt Kate's. And I inhaled all of it while smooching whatever part of their necks and faces I could reach, grinning when they broke out into giggles.

Pulling back, I just reveled in them, loving the fact that they were talking over one another.

"Aunt Alice let us watch you on the map," Bethy said, pointing back toward the house. "We knew when you were almost here."

"Gamma made apple pies!" Sammy gushed, his dark brown eyes wide with excitement. "Three of them!"

"Yeah, she said they were for Daddy," Bethy whispered, but her eyes searched around through the reuniting couples, and I didn't even need to look, because her sweet face exploded into happiness. "Daddy!"

Despite how tired he was from flying, Edward's face lit up at the sight of his kids running toward him. He caught them both up in his strong arms, hugging them fiercely. But the best was watching Bethy grab both sides of his scruffy face, which was now almost a full beard, and kiss him everywhere – cheeks, lips, nose, chin – telling him he was too fuzzy. They chattered away at him just like they had to me, and I smiled when he gave them every bit of his attention, simply standing there on the landing pad, holding them. He pressed a heavy kiss to Sammy's brow and then dropped his forehead to our son's as the four-year-old babbled at him ceaselessly. They were mirror images of each other: baseball caps, crooked grins, and long eyelashes.

The hands that had snapped the necks of the enemy while we were away were the same gentle ones that held his little boy and girl like he'd never let them go, the same hands we all trusted with everything in us.

I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned to see Aunt Kate smiling at me. I reached out and hugged her tightly.

"Bella-child, I'm so glad you're safe," she whispered to me, kissing my cheek. She pulled back, giving a glance over my shoulder. "All of you."

"Me, too," I whispered back, seeing Esme and Carlisle's teary reunion. She looked pissed, relieved, and overwhelmed all at the same time. "How's she doing?"

"Es?" Kate verified, looking at the two of them. "Oh, she's run the gamut, that one. I'm still not sure where his testicles will end up."

Laughing, I hugged her again. "Yes, yes…his son came close to losing his, too."

Kate shot me a wink. "I bet."

Soon, I was passed off to Rose, Mack, Alice, and Sarah. Even little Caleb and Abby hugged me fiercely. It was loud and crowded on Aunt Kate's front lawn, but we all came to a standstill when Carlisle walked to his son, who was still holding Bethy and Sammy. In fact, all the kids were looking at him curiously, due to his bruised face.

Edward set the kids down, and Carlisle knelt before them. Just when I thought my outgoing daughter would step forward, it was my shy, quiet boy that walked to his grandfather with the most somber, almost angry expression on his face. My God, he'd never looked more like Edward than he did right then.

Sammy reached up to trace a surprisingly gentle finger around Carlisle's black eye. His little brow furrowed when he spoke. "Wha' happin', Poppy? Who hurt you? _Who_ gave you owies?" His tone was almost a growl, but it was demanding and fierce.

"Damn, he's is father all over, right?" Kate murmured to me. "Edward asked Carlisle that very question when he was about that age. Almost the exact same way. I thought Elizabeth would kiss that boy to death."

Carlisle must've remembered it, too, because he gave Edward a quick smirk before facing all the kids. "I'm okay, guys."

"Did bad guys hurt you?" Bethy asked, stepping forward along with Caleb and Abby. And he was suddenly under intense debriefing.

"They did."

"Did Daddy catch 'em?" Caleb asked.

"Everybody caught them."

"Does it hurt?" Abby asked, starting to reach for him, but stopped herself.

I realized the entire lot of us were watching the kids interrogate Carlisle, all of us with amused expressions on our face. He'd already answered to his wife, but the tough ones were under five feet tall. He may have only been blood related to two of those children, but he was Poppy to every last one of them. Abby only knew Carlisle and Esme as grandparents, and Caleb simply considered them an extra set. Carlisle loved them all just the same.

Suddenly, Kaitlyn let out a squeal, fighting Mickey to get down. With wobbly, two-year-old legs, she pushed by adults only to fly into Carlisle's arms.

"Pop-pop!" she said with a giggle.

The interrogation was over. All the kids hugged him, almost at one time.

It was then that Aunt Kate took command. "Okay, all of you inside. Time to eat."

We pulled our respective kids off Poppy, setting them on their feet to run inside. Conversations were loud, full of laughter and teasing. I glanced around for Edward, but stopped when I saw that his face was in Esme's hands. He looked a bit uncomfortable as he removed his baseball cap, which sent his hair every which way, but he nodded at whatever she was saying softly to him. Esme's happy tears made me turn to go on inside to leave them to talk.

**~oOo~**

**EDWARD**

"Edward?" Esme said, tugging softly on my sleeve.

I glanced up at everyone disappearing through the front doors, but turned my attention to her. Her face was a mix of all sorts of emotions, which seemed to have manifested into tears. My brow furrowed as I took off my baseball cap. Esme's tears made me uncomfortable and sad.

"Happy tears, son," she explained, reaching up to cup my face. "I just… I needed to thank you."

I was shaking my head before she even finished that sentence. "No, you don't."

Her smile was warm and comforting. "I know you would've gone after your father without me asking, sweetheart. That's not what I'm thanking you for. I'm thanking you for keeping me together when I needed you the most."

"You were in shock, Esme," I argued in a whisper, my eyes falling to the ground between our feet.

"Maybe," she allowed.

"A-And…I promised him, too."

She laughed softly, sniffling a little. "Edward, stop."

My gaze shot up from my boots to meet her eyes.

"You did an amazing job in your father's absence. I hope you know that," she stated firmly, waiting until I nodded before she went on. "You guided them like he would have."

Shaking my head, I said, "I don't know. Bella said the same thing, but…" My voice trailed off as I shrugged a shoulder.

"Well, I do. Bella's a smart girl, and she knows what she's saying. And I listened in more than you think."

Smiling at her wink, I tilted my head at her. "Yeah?"

"Yeah," she said with a chuckle, once again cupping my face. "Now, tell me the truth… How hurt is he? 'Cause he won't say. Stubborn fool…"

I broke out into a laugh. "Aw, he's all right. Mostly what you see is the worst." I gestured to my face. "Maybe a hurt rib or two. He was weak from lack of food and water. But nothin' major, nothin' broken. Promise, Mom."

She leaned up on her tiptoes, kissing my cheek. "You know, if I could've handpicked my children, you and Bella would be at the top of the list. I think I got a damn good deal when I met your father."

Grinning, I shrugged, looking down at my feet again. "Maybe."

"I love you, Edward. Please don't ever think differently."

"Love you, too." I shuffled my feet, feeling like a kid, but Esme had a way of doing that to me.

She kissed my cheek again, this time pulling me into a hug, and I wrapped my arms around her. It reminded me of my mother's hugs – safe and easy – though I was only a damn kid the last time I'd hugged my mother.

"I'm glad you're all home safe," she mumbled into my chest, finally pulling back. "How'd our girl do?"

Wrinkling my nose, I sighed deeply. "Nightmares, almost from the moment we landed. I expected them, and she'd asked me to ignore them."

"But you didn't."

"No," I said with a laugh. "Not at all. And she had one panic attack, and that was while cleaning Dad up, but I was able to talk her down."

Esme smiled with pride. "She's a strong one."

"She is," I agreed.

We both glanced up when my excited, red-cheeked daughter slammed out the screen door and opted to jump from the porch to the front yard.

"Daddy!" She rushed to me. "C'mon," she grunted, tugging my hand. "Uncle Emmett says he's gonna eat _two apple pies_! You can't let 'im! We're suh-posed to share!"

Laughing, I scooped her up, holding her upside down to that her bare belly was exposed. I tickled her bellybutton with my scruffy face – or fuzzy, as she'd called it when she'd first seen me – grinning when she broke into squeals and pleads.

"What if I don't wanna share, little sweetness?" I asked in a growl against her belly.

"No!" She laughed until she was as red as her hoodie, fighting my tickling fingers. "We always share, Daddy!"

I glanced up at Esme. "You made apple pies?"

"Mmhmm," she answered, smirking at Bethy and me. "And yes, Bella's recipe."

I righted Bethy, looking at my sweet, happy baby girl. "Awesome! Is there ice cream?"

"Yeah, Daddy!" Bethy sang, rolling her eyes at me for having asked a dumb question and looking just like her mother.

Chuckling, I kissed her neck loudly. "I've missed you, pretty girl."

"Missed you, too, Daddy." She went to kiss me, but stopped. "You owe me 'mooches, but you can't be fuzzy when you give them."

Feigning seriousness, I nodded. "Yes, ma'am. Can we eat first? And then I promise… Mission: De-fuzzing will commence."

She giggled, and fuck, I'd missed that sound. "Okay."

"Okay," I sang back. "Now, let's go break Uncle Emmett's fingers for even _thinking_ about stealing _our_ pie…"

She laughed, reaching for the door once Esme and I had walked up the steps. "Oh, Uncle Emmett! You're in trouble now!"

**~oOo~**

The bathroom was still steamy as I pulled on a pair of sweatpants and then plugged in Aunt Kate's electric clippers. I'd let my beard grow just about the entire time we were in Russia, merely because it was easier not to have to worry about it. But now, I'd have to trim it to even attempt to shave it off.

Just as I buzzed off the last of it, movement caught my eye, and I grinned down at Sammy. "Thought you'd be picking movies with Bethy and Mom."

He simply shook his head and walked to the toilet, using it to climb up onto the vanity. He plopped down silently in front of me. He watched me put away the clippers, fill the sink with hot water, and shake the can of shaving cream. Once I'd covered my face in the foam, he picked up the can.

"Like dis, Daddy?" he asked softly.

Chuckling, I nodded. I'd done this same thing with my own dad, and the memory of that made me recreate the moment with Samuel. From the noise coming in from bedroom, it sounded like my girls were dancing around to music, so I couldn't help but take a selfish few minutes with my son, even though Bella wanted a family night.

"C'mere. Scoot to the edge," I told him, putting a blob of foam on my fingers. I laughed when his nose wrinkled at the feel of it all over his face. When I was done, I nodded one time. "There. Now, take this and follow what I do. Okay?" I asked, handing him a razor with the cover still on it.

I could shave blind. It wasn't even something I thought about much anymore, so face to face, I talked Sammy through each swipe of the blade and each swish of it through the water. I heard the unmistakable sound of a picture being taken, and I laughed, looking to see Bella there with her phone in hand.

"Funny, sweetness," I muttered wryly.

"Shut it," she whispered back, but I could see that her eyes were watery. "I want to kiss you both, but no…" She gestured to her face, giving Sammy an exaggerated expression of disgust.

Before my girl could leave the bathroom doorway, I reached out and pulled her to me. "Why not, baby?" I asked, looming my lathered-up face over hers as I bent her back.

"Edward!" she squealed, breaking into laughter, which only made Sammy laugh at us.

Grinning, I straightened us up, dropping a kiss to her nose, which still left a white, soapy dollop on the tip.

She smacked at my bare chest, pushing me away to reach the towel so she could wipe her face. She planted a kiss on Sammy's forehead, saying, "Hurry up, you two. It's almost movie time. Bethy's gone to the kitchen for popcorn."

"'Kay," I said with a grin, turning back to the mirror to finish up, and Sammy followed my lead. I cleaned us both,picking my son up into my arms. "You ready for movies?" I asked him.

Sammy smiled and nodded. "Yeah," he whispered in his slow, soft way.

The reality that one day I'd be showing him how to really shave made me kiss the side of his head as we walked into the bedroom. He and Bethy had grown so damn fast. The sight before me, though, made me grin. Bella and Bethy were dancing to whatever song was playing on the TV. They were too damn cute dressed for bed: Bethy in plaid pink pajamas and Bella in my T-shirt and boxers. Both had their hair down in long chocolate waves, and Lock and Load sat off in the corner, watching the whole thing with amused doggie grins on their faces. I set Sammy down, and he ran to his mom, who picked him up and continued to move to the music. I fell down onto the bed, propping my head up on my hand just to watch them. God, I'd missed the shit out of having my whole family in one damn spot.

Bella buried her face in Sammy's neck. "You smell like Daddy!" she growled just to make him curl in on himself.

Laughing, I shook my head at her, but I could see that we both needed this time. While a part of me eyed my wife – looking so damn sexy in my boxers – like a starving man, the other part of me needed to simply come down from this last mission. I needed to drown myself in whatever cartoon we were about to put on and snuggle up with all three of them in the pajama party/bed picnic that Bella had created.

Lunch had been a loud, boisterous celebration of having my dad back safe and sound. After, we'd shown him what the girls were capable of inside Aunt Kate's new computer room. He'd been highly impressed with Igor. However, he'd not been too pleased at the fact that our GPS chips were embedded under our skin, although he couldn't complain too much, since they were the reason we'd been able to work so well as a team.

Now, the sun had set, and Bella had stolen us away, if only for this first night back home. As I watched her dance with Bethy and Sammy, I was perfectly fucking fine with that.

"Let me see," Bethy stated, rushing to me. She beamed when her small hands framed my face. "Much better. Now…you owe me!"

I cleared my throat, frowning dramatically. "Then let's do this the right way, little sweetness." I sat up on the bed, leaning back against the stack of pillows and the headboard. "C'mere," I told her, patting my lap. She giggled, scrambling up onto my thighs and wrapping her arms around my neck. "Now...exactly what do I owe you?"

Suddenly, my baby girl turned shy. "'Mooches and hugs…for my nightmares," she murmured, gazing up at me with eyes that matched my own.

"Did you have more?"

She nodded, tracing the ink on my chest with her tiny finger, something she'd done since she was little.

"Wanna talk about it?" I asked her, tilting her head up by her chin.

She shook her head no. "I slept in Gamma's room."

"That's okay," I told her. "Gamma liked it. She told me."

The music was shut off, and before she joined us on the bed, I heard Bella tell Sammy to take a bathroom break.

"Actually," Bella whispered to her as she reached over to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear, "I think you helped Gamma. She was missing Poppy."

Bethy smiled in pride that she'd done a good thing, and I couldn't help but chuckle at her.

"Okay, so…a 'mooch for every nightmare? Or you just want buckets of them?" I asked her.

"Buckets!"

I curled her in, burying my face in her neck and smothered her in kisses – to her neck, her cheeks, her chin, her lips – all while she giggled and writhed in my arms. I finally dropped her back and blew loud, wet raspberries on her belly, just to hear her scream. Sammy scrambled up onto the bed and into his mother's arms, getting the same treatment. Soon, we had sagging, panting messes on the bed, but at least they were happy.

When Bella finally turned the movie on, my attention was solely on them. Bethy sat between Bella's legs so that she could get her hair braided, and Sammy lounged on me, his eyes glazing over as the movie wore on. At some point, we all crashed out in the same bed.

**~oOo~**

"Congratulations, Goliath," I muttered, rubbing the big guy's nose as I took in Mary and the new addition to the barn.

Noah was just as Bethy had described him – wobbly and all black, except for a white stripe down his nose. He was damned cute. I snorted to myself, hoping to God that my kids didn't beg to take him home, though I was sure they'd try.

I'd woken up before everyone else. The kids had been sprawled in every angle over me and Bella, but I wouldn't have changed anything about the night before. I'd tucked them all back in, dropping kisses to everyone before getting up and out of the house. It was obvious I was still coming down from the mission, because despite the time with my kids, I was still tense as hell. So I decided to get up and work in the barn.

Aunt Kate had asked for a couple of rocking chairs ages ago, and they'd originally been my goal when we'd all first decided to come up here for our break from work. So I set about making them. I had a smaller version of my woodshop here, but Aunt Kate was always saving wood for me in the far back corner. Sometimes, she'd find something unusual and stash it, or sometimes, she'd find something cheap at the hardware store in Anchorage and bring it back. It was the latter I was going to use: a large pile of cedar that she'd stowed away.

By the time I realized I wasn't in the barn alone, I'd already cut two sets of pieces I'd need, and I'd shed my T-shirt. I glanced up from the box of screws I was rooting around in to see my dad standing there.

"Want some help?" he asked.

I shrugged a shoulder. "Sure."

Only he and Jasper ever offered to help whenever I was working on something. They usually just held things, painted or stained, or sometimes, they'd sand something, because I never really gave instructions. I think they came out to simply enjoy the quiet work.

As I trimmed down a few boards, my dad pulled them out of the way. The jigsaw was the only sound, except for the occasional scratch or pant from Lock and Load, who were lounging in the open barn door.

"I owe you an apology," he spoke out of the blue as I drilled holes for screws.

I sighed, glancing up at him. "What the fuck for?"

He grinned, shaking his head. "Edward, you had a bad feeling about Russia before I even left."

Scoffing, I waved the apology away with a gloved hand. "And you didn't listen. Big deal. I didn't always listen to you, either."

My dad laughed, and I smiled wryly his way before driving four screws into the seat of the chairs, but he went on. "I need to thank you, too."

Glaring at him and bracing my hands on the workbench, I said, "No, the fuck you don't, Dad. Wanna know why?" When he nodded, I continued. "You don't owe me shit. There's a reason Boris insisted on helping, there's a reason we all took our asses across the damn globe, and there's a reason I didn't even think twice about doing what that fucker wanted. You may have forgotten, but most of us _owe__ you_." I raised an eyebrow at him. "Dad, I can't even count how many times you've done shit for me…_me alone_. Never mind the fact that you helped save Bella, tried to save her dad, and need I remind you about Bethy? Hmm? So keep your thanks and hand me that fucking drill."

He did as I asked, but didn't say anything for a few minutes. "When you were captured in China, what went through your head?"

I set in four more screws before I even thought about answering him. Frowning, I yanked off a glove, running my hand through my hair. "Um, Bella…the kids. I'd been punched around, so I'd blacked out a couple times. Why?"

He nodded liked he'd assumed as much, and when he opened his mouth to speak again, I interrupted him.

"And don't even think about thanking me for Esme. That was a no-brainer," I said, but my voice was a low warning. "She's as close to Mom as I can get, so yeah, I didn't even think twice." I set another couple of screws, attaching the back to the chair and setting it upright on the bench. Finally, I turned to him, ignoring the sad, yet awed expression on his face, because I'd never said that shit to him before. "What the hell is this all about?"

He smiled, sadly I noted. "I just… I'm too old for this shit, son. And now, I wonder what other past sins are out there waiting to come back to haunt me…you, everyone."

"Nothing we can't handle," I replied, leaning against the workbench. "Don't get me wrong… I don't _want_ to handle any-fucking-thing, but I will if I have to."

"You wanted out of the mercenary life, and I've tried to give you that, but it seems to keep coming back," he argued, his brow furrowing. "I just… Fuck, Edward… I just don't want you to hate me for any of it. You could've lost Bella…"

"Uh, no." I stopped him. "No, I wouldn't have. She's hellfire and a shit-storm all rolled up into one little pretty package, Dad. You know that as well as I do. I just had to point her in the right direction. She was fucking brilliant over there. Did I worry? Fuck yeah, I worried. Did she handle it? Like a champ. So…fuck these what-ifs you seem to be dwelling on."

I picked up the drill, but set it back down again. "Do you remember when I came to you? I wanted to join your crew? Garrett was already gone and Alec wanted out at the time, and you needed someone. I was still in recovery with my knee, and I'd just been released from service. Jasper came with me, but Emmett and Mickey weren't out of the Air Force yet. Do you remember?"

He nodded. "Yeah, you said you needed to work and Jasper needed the money."

"Right, to take care of his dad in Texas. Exactly. I asked for this life, Dad. _Asked_ for it. Begged you, if I'm not fucking mistaken. And everything you've taught me has led me to this point. I regret a few things, but working with you was never one of them. Everything I learned, I'm able to use now, even with Gravity. Hell, there's not much out there I could do." I rolled my eyes and shook my head. "And I'm sure I have my own sins floating around out there."

My dad laughed, reaching for my shoulder and giving it a squeeze. My eyes drifted just past his face to see my girl walking from the house toward the barn.

"Oh yeah," I added, pointing her way. "And that life led me to her, so I can't fault you. I most certainly don't fucking hate you for it."

Dad smiled, glancing from Bella back to me. Finally, he nodded, looking me in the eye. "Your mother would be proud of you – of who you've become – Edward. I hope you know that."

I said nothing; I didn't have a reply for that, because I didn't know what to say. I focused, instead, on Bella's arrival to the barn. She was all things fresh and sweet and beautiful, wearing jeans that hugged her sinfully and a long-sleeved shirt.

"There you two are! Alec's bitchin' about having to tackle breakfast on his own," she teased, but her eyes took in the chairs in progress. "Ah, but I see you have a reasonable excuse. Aunt Kate's chairs."

Smiling, I kissed her forehead. "You can write a note for me then, get me outta KP duty."

"Indeed," she said with a giggle, kissing my dad's cheek before walking toward the stables. "I also wanted to see… Oh my goodness, aren't you _cute_?" she cooed to Noah, who was walking shakily to her. "Hi there, handsome boy," she sang to him, and I swear to God I fell in love with her all over again, especially when she nuzzled Goliath, whispering to him, "You make pretty babies, big guy."

"And here I was worried about the kids wanting to steal that foal," I muttered, grinning when Bella beamed my way.

"Can I?" she asked, looking exactly like Bethy when she wanted something.

My dad laughed heartily, slapping my shoulder. "You're on your own, son."

He left us alone, but I couldn't help but tease my girl. "Do I have to have the same conversation with you as we did Bethy that one time about the puppies? Sweetness, the baby's too young to be away from his mother…"

Bella cracked the fuck up, smacking my shoulder. "Shut it, Edward."

Grinning, I caught up her hand, placing a kiss in the palm. "What'cha doin' out here? Where're the kids?"

"Oh, we've already been forgotten," she stated, wearing a smirk. "Some big video game tournament with Jazz and Emmett." She reached for her back pocket, pulling out a familiar envelope. "I came to return these."

"Ah, okay," I said with a nod. Keeping her hand in mine, I walked to Aunt Kate's storage room and opened it. I then opened the safe, waving a hand for her to toss Plan B inside, and she did.

"Glad we didn't need that," she murmured, looking up at me with a sweet smile as I locked the little room back up.

"C'mere," I sighed, lifting her up onto the workbench next to the unfinished chairs. I stepped between her legs as she trailed a finger down what would be the arms of one of the chairs.

"Are you gonna carve it? Like the one at the beach house?" she asked.

"I'd thought about it," I answered her, taking a deep breath and letting it out as I buried my face in her neck. My body gave a slight shudder at finally being able to relax a little, but still I was too fucking tense. "You think Aunt Kate would want it?"

Bella giggled. "I think you could carve a skull and crossbones on there and she'd love it…'cause Edward Anthony made it for her."

I grinned against her throat, hugging her closer. "Maybe."

She wrapped her arms around my shoulders, setting her cheek on the top of my head. "Are you and your dad okay? I'm sorry I interrupted."

I pulled back, shaking my head and brushing a stray lock from her face. "No, we're fine. He tried to thank me and apologize to me. I wouldn't hear of it."

She cupped my face, leaning in to kiss my lips briefly. "He means it."

"Yeah, but I don't want it." I frowned, fiddling with a long dark curl. "I-I c-can't s-seem t-to c-calm th-the f-fuck d-down f-from th-this m-mission," I admitted in a stutter. I shook my head, locking my eyes with hers.

"Sweetheart, we've only been back twenty-four hours," she told me gently. "And this one was tough, so it's okay if it takes a bit longer."

I loved that she never even batted an eye about my bullshit. I loved that she took my problems and smoothed them out in front of me, making me feel normal.

"Before you," I said, swallowing thickly, "I would've holed up at my house for weeks after a mission in order to calm down. Or I would've…" I stopped, grinning and shaking my head. "Never mind…"

Her laugh was absolutely adorable and evil and sexy. "You mean you would've gone out and gotten laid."

I huffed a laugh, but it wasn't in humor. In fact, that part of my past wasn't something I was particularly proud of, especially since I'd met Bella. "I shouldn't have said anything."

She pinched my chin gently and lifted my gaze to hers. "Why? It's who you were, Edward. You act like I was a snow white virgin when we met."

My eye twitched at the thought, and it only served to make her laugh again. "You know…"

"Mention Jacob right now, and I'll twist your nipple off, Edward Cullen," she growled, grabbing said nipple between her thumb and forefinger. She'd moved so fucking fast, I didn't have a chance to defend myself.

"Okay, okay, okay!"

She giggled again, pressing her forehead to mine. "Is that what you need, baby?" she asked, using a tone that always drove me crazy. "You need to get laid? Want me to pretend to be some unknown, easily swayed, slutty girl?"

"Fuck no," I practically snarled, shaking my head fervently. "I want _you_."

She smiled sweetly, but her eyes turned dark. "Can't say the feeling isn't mutual, Edward. You're driving me crazy."

She trailed her finger down my chest to where my jeans had fallen low on my hips. I couldn't help the moan that escaped me when her touch brushed lightly across the sensitive skin just above the waistband, teasing the trail of hair until I twitched hard behind my jeans. I leaned in and kissed the shit out of her. I couldn't help it.

My hands pulled her closer, one at her waist and the other slipping slowly into her hair so I could really control the kiss. Her strong legs wrapped around me, bringing my now very interested dick closer to where I could feel the heat of her, despite both sets of jeans.

"Where?" she simply asked, placing soft, easy kisses to my lips.

I quickly glanced around. I wouldn't make it to the house; I wanted her too badly. I couldn't risk where we were; it was way too fucking open. My eyes landed on the storage room, but it was full of weapons and shit, and my luck, we'd drop a grenade or something when I took her against the door. I was just about to call it off when Bella spoke up.

"Hay loft."

"Hell, yes," I hissed, kissing her again and tugging her off the workbench. I walked her across the barn, turning her so she could grab onto the ladder. "Go, love. Quick!" I hissed, popping her sweet ass.

She snorted into a giggle, but scurried up to the loft, and I was right behind her. Before she could get too far into the hay, I grabbed her ankle. She was already unbuttoning her jeans, so I gave her a hand removing them and then tugged her to me.

"See?" she asked with a laugh. "Isn't this easier than having to get dressed up, trying to tame your hair, and buying some anonymous chick drinks at a bar?" Her smile was hilarious, and I rolled my eyes. "What was it you said in Russia? Oh yeah… I'm a sure thing, baby. You should know that."

Grinning down at her, I nodded. "Yes, ma'am…so shut up and kiss me. We have to be quick and quiet."

Her legs opened up for me, and I couldn't help but grind against her. My moan was muffled against her lips as we made out like fucking teens up there. Skimming my hand down her side to her stomach, I palmed her pussy, groaning in pure fucking want when I found her hot and wet.

"I've been that way since I walked out here," she explained, her head falling back when I kissed down her neck. "Edward, please…"

"Don't beg. I'll take care of this beautiful pussy. Don't you ever think differently, sweetness." My fingers worked past her underwear, pushing them out of the way, and a feeling of pure possessiveness came over me. "Goddamn, Bella…I make you this wet?" I asked her, sinking two fingers inside her as I teased her clit with my thumb.

"You know you do," she countered, her fingers tugging at my jeans, but her feet were what pulled them down off my hips. Her warm hand wrapped around my cock, and my eyes rolled back at her tight grip as her thumb swiped over the head.

My forehead dropped to hers, and I lost myself in the feel of her working my dick like a damn pro and just how drenched she was making my hand. She knew exactly how to touch me to make me fucking stupid. We seemed to be matching each other's rhythm, but I needed to be inside her.

"Bella, baby…how do you want this, 'cause if you don't stop…"

"Just like this," she said, pulling my hand away from her pussy and placing my cock at her entrance. "I wanna see your face when you fuck me."

"That's my girl," I grunted, reaching down to hook her leg in the crook of my arm as I slipped deep inside her. I stopped long enough to drop a long, open-mouthed kiss to the scar on her thigh, my eyes never leaving hers. "I never want another 'anonymous girl,' Bella. I'll only ever want you. Don't you know that?"

"Edward, please…"

"Answer me, and I'll fuck you 'til you see stars, love," I commanded, swiveling my hips so that my pelvic bone brush her sensitive clit just enough to make her breath catch.

Her eyes locked with mine, and she nodded vehemently. "Yeah…I know that, Edward."

"Good girl," I purred against her neck at the same time I pulled back and drove into her.

She buried her noises into my neck, her fingers digging into my back. With every thrust, we sank deeper into the hay, but I couldn't find in me to give a shit, as long as it wasn't hurting her, and gauging by her reaction, she was doing just fine. Bracing one hand, I shoved her shirt up with the other, tugging her bra down so I could latch on to nipples that were peaked hard and tight. She tasted like home and sweat and sin, everything I needed at the moment, and we worked ourselves higher and higher. We were experts at quickies and keeping them fucking quiet. It came with having the kids, with Gravity's offices always having someone around, and with the fact that no matter how long we'd been together, we still wanted each other constantly…and sometimes, not always in convenient places.

"I love you," I moaned in her ear, my hand slipping down to rub her clit. "I need to feel you come on me. Come all over my cock, love."

She threaded her fingers into my hair, bringing my mouth to hers, and the only sound I heard was a small squeak when she unraveled beneath me. The feel of her muscles clamping down caused my undoing. My thrusts lost their rhythm, and I buried myself inside of her, letting go, only it was me that saw stars.

"Fuck," I ground out through gritted teeth, collapsing on top of her.

"Hey, handsome?" she whispered against my cheek a couple of minutes later."Hmm?" I hummed into her neck.

"I know you're a love 'em and leave 'em type," she teased with a giggle, "but how about you take this girl to breakfast?"

I laughed, shaking my head and finally pushing myself up. "For you? The world, sweetness."

**~oOo~**

**A/N… Okay so the lemon didn't fit in the last chapter, but here, it most certainly did. ;) And everyone's home safe… **

**Beffers87 created two amazing manips for this chapter. You can find them on my blog, FB, and Twitter. They are stunning – Mercward and Sammy shaving and Mercward working in the barn. Just gorgeous. So a big thanks to her.**

**Now…JenRar's working on the absolute SWEETEST Christmas fic. It's a short little story, but it's just about the cutest thing, so go over and follow her so you'll get an alert. It'll start posting soon and will post up until Christmas Day. :D**

**So far, chapter 17 is making good progress, despite my limited time, so the next update will remain Wednesday. Until then… Mooches, Deb**


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N…Okay, so once again I find myself falling behind, so I'm going to ask you for more patience. I won't be updating on Sunday. I'm trying my best to get to a decent point, but it doesn't seem to be happening for me. RL combined with the holidays is just kickin' my ass. **

**So I'll let you guys get on with it. See me at the bottom…**

**~oOo~**

**Chapter 17**

**BELLA**

"I can't believe Kurt," Makenna said with a giggle, shaking her head before taking a sip of her beer. "I mean, I thought he'd stay the Mack Daddy."

Grinning, I aimed my arrow at the target Alec had been kind enough to put up for me. "I wish you could've seen him. Every time Irina would step inside the door, he'd just about fall out of his chair," I told them, pulling back on the bow, lining up my shot, and letting go.

The beauty of the bow and arrow was the silence. The only sound heard was the dull thunk of it hitting the target, and that was only because it was a bale of hay with a thin cardboard target on it. I wrinkled my nose at the fact that I only caught the outside ring, but turned to my girls.

Mickey laughed, nudging Makenna. "Poor Kurt. We gave him shit from the get-go."

"How hurt is he?" Rose asked, kicking back in her chair.

"He caught a ricochet to his thigh. Either the bullet had disintegrated, or it was a piece of concrete that nicked him, because there wasn't anything in the wound," I explained, pulling out another bow.

We were all outside today. It was too pretty not to be. Summer in Alaska wasn't exactly boiling temps and beach weather, but the sun was out, the sky was blue, and it seemed my husband had finally settled down after our return from Russia. Though, it took the two new hand-carved rocking chairs on Aunt Kate's front porch to do it, not to mention my own version of calming Edward down. I fought my smile as my eyes raked over him, because a needy Edward was a fucking sexy Edward. I couldn't deny that if I tried.

I heard squeals of laughter, and I looked up and smiled at Emmett, who was currently being attacked by every kid. Edward and the guys were tossing a football around with them. I shook my head at little Kaitlyn trying to tackle Alec. Even Lock and Load were in on the game, running around the entire little field.

Aiming the arrow again, I let go, nodding once in satisfaction that it came closer to the bull's-eye than my last shot. One more arrow, and I was in the black center. This was a completely different type of weapon for me, but I liked it. A lot.

"Is there anything you can't shoot?" Alice asked, setting her tablet down in her lap.

"Is there anything you can't hack?" Makenna shot back with a laugh.

Grinning, I shrugged at Alice, who was shaking her head. "Rose's dad used to hunt deer with one of these," I said, pointing to Rose, who was nodding, but her eyes were closed to the sunshine. "I never saw the appeal, but after Norilsk, I can understand why this would've been helpful. It's silent, invisible, and shot the right way, in the right place, using the right tips, it's damn deadly."

"Eddie called her _Robin Hood_." Mickey laughed, her head falling back.

Rose stood up, holding her hand out. "Gimme that thing. Let's see if I remember what Dad taught me."

Chuckling, I handed the bow and quiver of arrows to her. I fell down in a chair next to Alice, glancing up when Aunt Kate and Esme joined us. A look over at the little football game, and I saw Carlisle relieving Edward so he could start the grill.

"Barbecue?" I asked Aunt Kate.

She smiled victoriously. "I have you all under one roof, aside from young Kurt, who will be here in a few days. Carlisle's on his way to recovery, and everyone's safe. My birthday was last Monday. It's time to celebrate it."

"What?!" we all yelled, looking at her like she was crazy.

"Why didn't you say something?" I asked her.

"And what good would it have done? Hmm?" she countered, raising an eyebrow at me. "All of you were spread all over hell and back, not to mention we didn't know where Carlisle was. I'm saying something now."

Esme chuckled, shaking her head. "You're about to get into trouble in three…two…one…"

"Now we can't buy you anything!" Makenna wailed.

"What the hell do I need?" Aunt Kate countered, sounding indignant. "Everything I want is on my property right now. What I want is Edward's steaks, Alec's mashed potatoes, and a beer or two with my family."

"That sounds rather…perfect, actually," Esme agreed softly, giving the lot of us a glance before looking over at the football game that had continued on without Edward.

I got up, reached into the cooler, and grabbed two beers, handing one to Aunt Kate and one to Esme. "Well, then, let's get this shit started. Happy birthday." I tapped her beer bottle with my own, grinning at her.

A dull thunk from behind made me spin around. Rose smiled in triumph as she jerked a chin toward her arrow, which was closer to the center of the target than mine.

"Oh, hell no!" I growled, snatching the bow from her. "Bitch, it's on," I muttered on my way past her as I walked to the target to pull out the arrows.

Rose and I took turns taking shots as the girl talk continued to wage around us. We shot a few rounds, calling it a draw when both of us started nailing the black center over and over. I'd finally found my aim and rhythm, and Rose had remembered what her father had taught her. Finally, Aunt Kate told us to give it a break, that she'd send Tom to Anchorage for another bow.

I sipped my beer, leaning my head back on the chair as my eyes drifted to Carlisle. He was still favoring his ribs, but Esme had said they weren't broken, just probably severely bruised after too many punches and kicks. His face still looked a mess, but the black eye and cuts were already starting to fade into a harsh yellow-green. His wrists were no longer covered, already healing. If he was lucky, the scars wouldn't be that bad. At least they were able to be concealed by a watch.

"Huh," I hummed to myself, meeting Esme's gaze when she heard me. "I was just thinking. What happened to Carlisle's Rolex? Has he said?"

That caught the attention of all the girls in the group. Conversations about movies, men's bad habits, and celebrity romances came to a stop.

Alice sat forward, frowning a little. "We lost that GPS signal at the small industrial airport just outside of Moscow. From what I can put together, it was destroyed."

"What's he said to you?" I asked Esme, knowing she'd never betray his confidences, but would provide information if needed.

She glanced over at her husband, smiling when he let himself get tackled by Abby and Bethy. "He told me he was knocked out at the hotel. When he came to, he had a black bag over his head, his wrists and ankles were bound, and they'd left his wedding ring. That's it."

"They could've scanned him at the airport," I said, looking to Alice. "It wasn't a big place, but I could imagine they had that type of technology. Did you ever find out what flights went out that day?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Alice chanted in her usual manner. "Alec and Kurt spoke to some girl at the control center. She sent me the flight schedule for that day. Well, she emailed it to Alec, along with her phone number and work schedule."

We all cracked up, especially when Sarah snorted into a laugh, saying, "There's a shock. Shameless thing."

"Well, in his defense," I started with a laugh, "he worked her pretty hard. I'd told him to turn it on pretty thick. We had nothing to go on at that point."

Sarah grinned, waving the explanation away. "Sometimes, it doesn't take much. Hell, the girl at the pharmacy counter practically trips over herself every time we go. Last time, she dropped a whole bottle of pills."

We all cracked up, and I pointed to her.

"Remind me to take you with us to the ice cream shop in Forks sometime," I told her, raising an eyebrow. "There's a girl…she's not even twenty-one, if she's a day. Edward gets a free scoop. Every fucking time we go."

"That shit works both ways, you know," a deadly velvet voice stated from behind my chair. "Wanna tell them about the diner, sweetness?"

"Oh, for fuck's sake, Edward," I sighed, rolling my eyes. "Ernie's sixty years old! I remind him of his daughter, who lives all the way in New York."

"And the college kid at the library?" he added, leaning his hands on the back of my chair. "Oh, let's not forget the guy at the self-defense class in Port Angeles."

Grinning, I shrugged a shoulder. "What? It was a free lesson…or three…for the kids," I explained, giggling when the girls exploded in laughter.

"Shut up, pretty boy," Mickey warned him with a raised eyebrow and a deep laugh. "You work it…still. Don't lie."

He chuckled and dropped a kiss to my head, saying, "Get yourselves ready to eat, ladies."

"Sweet," Mickey sang, getting up.

Most everyone followed her, but Alice walked to me, Edward, and Esme.

"There were a couple of flights the day Carlisle's GPS tracker stopped transmitting – a couple to St. Petersburg, one to the Siberian Plateau, one to Poland, and a couple of others that didn't raise any red flags to me," she rattled off efficiently, but she had our attention. "However, the way I'd attached that tracker, they would've had to smash the watch in order to stop its transmission."

Edward's eyes narrowed as he rubbed his chin. "Why are we worried about that watch?"

"Not worried, really," I told him. "I was just curious if your dad had said anything about it." I turned back to Alice. "What information could they have gotten from it had they cracked the damn thing open?"

"Nothing," she stated firmly. "Not a damn thing. I specifically used an unmarked tracker with no serial number, no identifying marks whatsoever. And despite the registration through Rolex, they would've come to a dead end. I hid him that way, too. Carlisle's taught me a trick or two about staying below the radar. I just jack that up a notch with what I can do." She smiled proudly.

"Could they have read the signal?" Esme piped up, causing us all to look her way.

"I don't know, but again, it wouldn't matter. Tracking my signal from that chip would lead them not only through Ben's FBI servers, but through Eleazar's CIA ones. I did that as a warning," Alice answered.

Edward seemed satisfied with that answer and started back toward his grill and the tables that Obie and Tom were setting up, and Alice followed him.

Esme stopped me, though, asking, "Why did you ask about his watch?"

"I don't know." I shrugged a shoulder. "I was just noting how much he's healed in the last couple of days we've been back. His watch popped into mind, because I was thinking he could hide the scars with it."

She nodded in silence, but made no move to continue toward the tables. Finally, she said, "I almost lost him. And I can't decide if I'm mad at him or the people that hurt him."

Smiling sadly, my nose wrinkled. "It's probably a little of both."

She huffed a laugh. "I'm sure you understand."

Laughing, I nodded. "Sure. But I also know you're grateful he's okay, that he's back in one piece."

She nodded, swiping at her tears. "I am. Very much so." She let out a deep sigh, seeming to collect her emotions. "What about you? I heard things…"

Smirking, I asked, "From whom? Edward? Carlisle?"

"Yes. They said you were very strong."

I shrugged a shoulder, but leaned in to hug her. "I tried to be. I was just glad I didn't lose my shit at the wrong time. It would've been easy, considering where Mickey and I found him and what condition he was in."

"Wanna talk about it?" she asked, cupping my face.

Tilting my head at her, I debated it, but decided against it. She didn't need to hear about the way Carlisle looked or how similar his wounds were to mine. Esme was always my sounding board, my council, and my very good friend. She was like a mother to me, and it was for that reason alone I wanted to spare her the details of what I'd seen. This shit was too close to home for her.

"No." She opened her mouth to speak, but I interrupted her. "Only because it's over and it wasn't a big deal this time. I promise. Besides, Edward talked me through it, and I'm well aware he held me through a nightmare or two, despite the fact that I told him to ignore them."

Chuckling, she shot a look Edward's way. "Yes, he said something about that."

"Stop!"

I looked up to see my son looking sort of grumpy as he ran our way. Kneeling down, I welcomed him with open arms.

"What's this?" I asked, rubbing the wrinkle between his brows.

"Kaitlyn won't stop following me!" he complained, giving the little shadow a harsh look as she wobbled up to us.

"Ah, I see," I sang, picking him up. "She looks up to you, Sammy. You're older. You did the same thing to Caleb and Bethy not so long ago."

Kaitlyn looked up at us, her dark almond-shaped eyes looking hopeful. "Dotdawgs, Sammy."

"I know!" he growled, sighing impatiently.

Esme chuckled, cupping Samuel's grumpy face. "You are your father's son, aren't you?" she asked him, making me laugh and bury my face in my son's neck. "I think Edward wore that same expression the first time I told him he was attached to the baker of the apple pie, not the pie itself."

I giggled again, smooching Sammy's cheek. "I love you, buddy, but you gotta relax. Kaitlyn just wants to play with you."

"She's a baby," he argued in somewhat of a whisper, not that Kaitlyn was fazed by the insult.

"Mmhm, she is," I agreed. "Which means you have to take it easy on her, Sammy. One day, you might not mind so much. Okay? For me?" I asked him, jiggling him in my arms a little.

"Yeah…" he said in his usual slow, soft way, but it was still disgruntled.

"Promise you'll try?" I asked into his neck, making him squeal into a giggling protest. "Promise, or I'll tickle you to pieces."

He curled in on himself, laughing and fighting my fingers, but I finally got a loud, squawking, "I promise, Mommy! Now, stop!"

Laughing, I pulled back to kiss his nose. "That's my boy. Now…let's go tell Daddy to feed us. Hotdog or steak?"

"Chilwi?" he asked.

"No, not this time."

He looked forlorn that his daddy hadn't made chili for the hotdogs. He thought for a moment as we walked up to Edward as he manned the grill.

"Steak, Daddy," he ordered, and Edward did a double-take, looking adorably confused.

"Really? Not a hotdog?" he asked, turning a few steaks over.

"No chilwi," Sammy stated, holding his hands out and shrugging, like it was an obvious decision that he'd made by weighing all the options.

"My bad, buddy." Edward laughed, kissing his son's forehead.

I giggled at my boys, kissing Sammy before setting him down onto the ground and telling him to go sit at the table. I then kissed Edward's sharp jaw, whispering, "Love you."

Edward's smiled was easy, crooked, and sweet. "Love you, too."

I took a deep breath and let it out, but I looked up at him. "After we eat, we need to check in with El."

The smile slipped from his face as he pulled the steaks from the fire and stacked them on a plate. He nodded, meeting my gaze. "Yeah, you're probably right." He nodded again, handing me the plate with the hotdogs for the kids. "After dinner. We'll give Aunt Kate the birthday she wants, okay?"

Smiling, I kissed his lips. "Okay."

**~oOo~**

**EDWARD**

I stepped into the computer room to find my dad standing in the center of it, looking a little lost. The noise from the kitchen was a happy, easy, fun sound as the girls cleaned up from the barbecue. It helped that there was probably a couple that had had a few beers too many. But none of that laughter registered on Dad's face.

"How'd you do it?" he asked, glancing back at me.

"Do what?"

"Walk us through the hotel in Moscow," he replied, gesturing a hand around the room. "It was just about perfect."

"Ah, well…you haven't really seen Igor really work yet," I explained with a wry smile. "Without Alice's latest genius invention, I'm not sure we'd have been able to help you."

His brow wrinkled, and he gazed slowly around the room.

"Let me show you," I told him, stepping to the table. "Igor, engage."

"_Yes, Mr. Edward…"_

"Give me the satellite images for Aunt Kate's property up to a hundred-mile radius."

"_As you wish…"_

The large flatscreen monitor on the wall lit up with flashes of the globe, narrowing down to the United States, only to zoom in on Alaska. It magnified once more until there was perfect overhead shot of the property on which we were currently standing.

"Perfect. Now, Igor, along the back wall, show the video surveillance from the edge of the property," I commanded.

Grinning when my dad's mouth fell open, I urged him to step forward. "This was how we were able to do it. We had eyes on every inch of that hotel in Moscow. Igor locked in on every moving body on video, not to mention you and Esme."

Igor was fucking impressive. I had to give Alice all the damn props in the world for it. The holographic monitors popped up on the back bare wall, which scanned every part of Aunt Kate's fence. The ones on the four corners rotated back and forth, capturing almost everything. There were a few designed with motion detection. We didn't monitor them all the time, but Alice had patched them into her system.

"Alice hacked into the hotel's security. We pulled the video feeds up just like this," I concluded.

My dad nodded, his eyes wide, but a small smile played at his lips, making me chuckle and squeeze his shoulder.

"I have to say, Igor was fucking helpful as hell while we were in Russia," I told him. "Igor, on two separate screens, please show me Kurt's and Eleazar's locations in real time."

"_As you wish… Monitors six and seven, Mr. Edward."_

Two more monitors lit up, both showing a map, but one was clearly of Irina's property in Central Siberia, while Eleazar was smack in the middle of Moscow.

"Fuck," my dad whispered, grinning as he looked to me. "I bet this thing frees up Alice's time."

"He does, he does, he does," Alice chanted, stepping into the computer room with a grin. "He accesses information for you guys while I work the more hands-on stuff." She looked to me, her face all business. "Bella said you wanted to contact El. Are you ready to do that? She said she'd be in here in a few minutes."

"Yeah, just about," I told her. "Actually, I'd like everyone in here for this conversation."

"Okay, I'll tell 'em," she said, walking toward the door, and on her way out, she barked her command to Igor. "Igor, send Eleazar an encrypted video chat request. Put him up on the big monitor so everyone can see it."

"_As you wish, Miss Alice…"_

Dad and I took seats at the table in the middle of the room. As the large monitor changed from a map to a video chat, everyone filed into the room. Bella took a seat next to me while the room slowly filled with everyone but Aunt Kate, Sarah, and the kids. Esme was the last to take a seat next to my dad.

Eleazar's face filled the screen, and he smiled down at all of us. Behind him was a beehive of activity in what looked like an office of some sort. If I'd had to guess, it was the CIA office in Moscow.

"I was just about to contact you." He shifted a little, closing the door to a small room. He glanced over the lot of us. "Es, you okay?" he asked his sister.

"I am now," Esme said softly, giving him a grateful smile.

"Good," he grunted, typing away at a keyboard. "I have some interesting news for you guys."

"You found Stefan and squashed him like a bug?" Emmett asked jokingly, but there was an edge of hope to his voice as well.

"I fucking wish," El groaned, rolling his eyes. "However, he lost his buyer. North Korea backed out since there's obvious heat all over George Stefan. The last thing they need is the world knowing what they were up to." He took a deep breath and let it out. "The advantage we have is that Stefan doesn't know that he's lost his buyer. He still thinks he's getting fifty million for this shit. And he also thinks he's got everything under control, despite the hiccup in Norilsk. We've intercepted his deal, and we've leaked the location of the transport of that uranium you guys confiscated. He thinks it's shipping out through the Barents Sea and heading to Canada. He thinks he still can take it. And how do we know this, you ask?" He grinned, holding up a finger. "Stefan has an undercover MI-6 operative under his employ. You tagged him a long time ago when this shit-storm started. Nicholas Gruber. Though, I'm pretty sure you understand I can't tell you his real name."

"That's understandable," my dad told him. "He's your contact? And is he running this false connection? 'Cause it'll get him killed if Stefan finds out."

"We know," El replied. "And yeah, he's faking it all right about now. He's been undercover for years, worked his way into Stefan's trust, and he's the one that barters all the deals for him. Since Yury is no longer alive, the responsibility for locating, tracking, and obtaining weapons, uranium, and equipment now falls to Nicholas, which is beneficial for us.

"Alice," he continued, typing quickly, "I re-tagged that uranium transport using the same GPS chips you'd originally calibrated. I'm sending you the information now just so you'll have it. We're putting it on a boat in a little over a week's time. And I think I have a problem."

My dad sat forward, his face an iron mask. "What's the problem?"

"I've been ordered to take the man out by any means necessary, but the problem is where Nicholas says Stefan wants to hole up after they steal my uranium. They know it's now U.S. property they're taking, and they know shit will be hot for a while after I allow them to have it. They won't be able to move it right away. They'll have to hold onto it, waiting until we 'give up' looking for it."

"Where?" my dad asked.

"A cluster of islands that sits between the Kara and Barents Seas just off the coast of the North Pole. Technically, I can't touch it. According to the information Nicholas has sent us, there's an old science research station on one of the bigger islands. It's Russian land, but it's a privately owned lab. It's also an area that has been deemed a preserve – there's all sorts of wildlife they're trying to protect there. The owner of this lab owed Stefan big money over some automatic weapons, and he never paid up. He reneged on the deal for whatever reasons. Therefore…"

"Lost his property," Dad surmised, nodding his head slowly. "Guess we found where Stefan is based out of now."

"Exactly," Eleazar said with a grin.

"What's his name?" Alice piped up, pulling a keyboard to her.

"Viktor Gavlik," Eleazar told her.

She immediately started researching the guy, piping up with, "He still owns that lab. It was originally a telescope. They lost funding when the preserve went into effect."

"We know. And I can't help him. He's not American, so he's not under my protection, nor can he get out from under Stefan. I can't get clearance to simply invade this island and go kick this guy's ass. Someone above me is an environmentalist and won't clear it. I'm fucking wrapped up in diplomatic red tape. And Gavlik doesn't want to lose that lab, either. He _can_, however, _hire_ someone to clean house. Someone not connected to anyone's government."

The room went deadly quiet, and we looked to my dad, who was studying Alice's screen over her shoulder.

He glanced up at El on the screen. "And Boris?"

"He'll be on the ship when it's overtaken," Eleazar replied, but his voice was solemn. "I can't guarantee his safety, but he's determined to wriggle his way into this shit."

My dad looked pissed, but he nodded in understanding. "Boris is clever. He can take care of himself."

Alice muttered soft instructions to Igor, and along the wall, a map showed the Barents Sea. She zoomed in on the little cluster of islands, finally locating the one with the abandoned lab. She looked up at my dad when he got up from the table to study it.

He rubbed his chin slowly, and I could tell that he was thinking over every angle – strategy, pros and cons, and possible outcomes.

"You're sure he'll land here?" he asked Eleazar.

"Nicholas is betting his life on it."

"And what if we waited until he makes his move?" he asked, pacing back and forth. "Could you get him then?"

"Possibly, though we run the risk of this house of cards crashing down around us before that happens. I've had to work quickly since I left Norilsk. MI-6 is helping, but again, our hands are tied. They won't make a move unless we do. They don't want to risk it, especially since North Korea was involved."

"Mm," my dad hummed, gazing around the room, but his eyes landed on me as he spoke to Eleazar. "What are you asking me, El?" he asked, turning to face the monitor.

"I can't _ask_ you anything, Carlisle. You know that. I can, however, convey a message from Gavlik, requesting assistance. I can provide you a ride – off the record, of course. If you don't want to do this, I completely understand. You just got back, you're still recovering…"

"Tsk," my dad scoffed, rolling his eyes. "How much time have I got?"

"Like I said, I'm putting that uranium on the boat in a little over a week's time. Ten days, actually."

My father glanced around the room, finally locking eyes with Esme, but he turned back to the monitor. "We'll call you back. I have to think about it. I can't ask these people to take another mission so soon after—"

"Dad…" I started, but shut up when he held up his hand.

"I need to think, son," he sighed wearily. "We'll talk it out, but we'll come to some sort of decision. Soon."

Bella's hand rubbed my thigh, and I looked down at her. "I'm in," she stated firmly, but in a whisper only meant for me. "Whatever the vote comes to, I'm in. This guy should be stopped. Guns and shit are one thing. Nuclear weapons are a serious level of hell, baby."

She was telling only me so that I could make an informed decision. I nodded, kissing her forehead. "Okay, sweetness. We'll weigh it all out." Looking down at her, I added, "What he'll do is ask for volunteers at this point."

She nodded. "I figured, but I'll go with what you want. You let me know."

"Yes, ma'am," I breathed against her hair.

Eleazar's voice caught our attention. "Carlisle, you asked me to keep you informed, and I am. I can get you some help, if you need it, but in order to take this guy down, your crew will have to do it."

My dad nodded and sat back down at the table. "You'll hear from me soon."

"Copy that," Eleazar replied. "Esme," he stated with a nod, and then the screen went black.

Not a single body moved from their spots around the room. We all waited. My dad sat forward, leaning his elbows on the table, and still we waited.

He inhaled sharply, looking to me first. "It's unfair of me to ask you to do this mission. I've done my fucking best to relieve you of this life, to give you a chance to flourish, and you have. All of you have done amazing things with your lives." He nodded once, standing up again. "When I put my last crew together in hopes of keeping my goddaughter safe, I never imagined the force I had created." He smiled sadly, pointing to Bella. "Your girls, my son and crew…" He let out a chuckle, shaking his head. "A powerful force to contend with," he sighed. "I owe each and every one of you an enormous thank you. I'm conflicted." He placed a hand over his heart. "I _know_ what it took for you to come for me. I know what it cost you to leave your families behind, what awful fucking decisions you had to make, and how many close calls there were.

"Normally," he continued, pacing slowly back and forth in front of us, "I don't dig too deep into politics – it's why I started my first crew in the first place. I knew there were causes that bureaucratic bullshit wouldn't allow, and I knew I could help. I had the connections and the means to do it. But I feel responsible for this situation, considering it was someone from my past that clued George Stefan in on this uranium. I've worked with the man before, and while he provides a service to people who are willing to pay, I feel that this bomb business is my responsibility to stop." He braced his hands on the back of an empty chair, looking more to me than anyone. "This isn't a command, this isn't a requirement, and this isn't something I'm taking lightly. I need your opinions on this. This is millions of lives at stake, and I'm well aware that deals like this probably happen all the fucking time, but _this __one, _I know about. So…I'm asking you…this crew…all of you… What should I do?"

I let out a deep breath, biting down on my bottom lip. "I had this same conflict when I was following Stahl's bullshit hostage requests. The thought of someone having that kind of power was…maddening. If push came to shove, I would've faked the exchange, taking my chances on getting you back another way."

Jasper, who had been standing in the back of the room, stepped forward and studied the map of the small islands. Alec and Emmett joined him.

Alec tapped the screen, looking to my dad. "If we don't do this…not only could this MI-6 operative get killed, but Boris as well, which would be a damn shame, 'cause I kinda like the old guy. Not to mention the fact that Stefan will just sell to the next highest bidder once he finds out North Korea has turned tail. And therein lies another problem. That weasel that was holding you captive said that Stefan was pissed and looking for revenge. It's quite possible he'll come for us. He's got backers and power…and he most certainly has the weapons at his disposal. He knows _you_. It wouldn't be hard to track you back to Seattle."

I sighed, running a hand through my hair. "He makes a fair point, but how sure are you that we can do this?"

"I'm not. At all." His voice was firm. "It's why I need you all."

Jasper spoke up, his eyes never leaving the screen in front him, and I knew him well enough to know that he'd been strategizing from the moment he'd set eyes on that island. "Given the location, the weather, and the touchy shit about the preserve, this'll be a tough mission. It's gonna be fucking cold. It's summer, but this area…" He tapped the screen. "You're talking low thirties in the summer. It could still snow, for fuck's sake. And rain? Seriously chilly. The advantage we'd have is the darkness and location. This place is almost the top of the globe, so the sun stays low, barely above the horizon. Because it's an island, we can essentially come in from all sides, dress for stealth, and take this lab down. However, we'd have two people inside we'd have to watch for." He finally faced my father. "With the right planning, and depending on who El gets to take us over, we could do it. I'm willing to work out a plan."

Emmett nodded just about the whole way through Jasper's speech. "Yeah, I think… Yeah, we can do this."

Alec smirked, shaking his head. "Sarah's gonna remove my dick, I swear…but I'm in."

Mickey stood up, looking to Obie. "You're sure?" she asked, and when Obie nodded, wearing a small smile, she looked to my dad. "I'm in. I think we can come up with something, and if we can't, then we don't go."

Dad looked to me, and I gazed down at Bella. A part of me knew that she'd be pissed at what I was about to say, but I also knew that Russia had been a gamble. We'd come out on top, but we'd been damn lucky. I couldn't take that chance again. I'd needed her on the ground with me over there. On this, I needed her sharp, beautiful mind.

"If we do this, I want you to lead info," I told her, bracing myself for an argument, but she tilted her head at me before getting up from the table. "Sweetness, I…"

She held up a finger, causing Jasper and Emmett to smirk my way. "Hang on," she said, studying the map. "Not info, Edward," she countered, looking back at me. "Sniper." She shrugged a shoulder. "It's the best option. You don't need me in addition to the girls. With Igor, they're perfect. However, looking at this lab, and seeing who's going…you'll need another eye."

My eyebrows shot up as I thought it through quickly. Setting her up and away from the thick of things would keep her safe, and fuck me, if she wouldn't be a sharp-ass shot.

Finally, I nodded. "Okay. I can deal with that, but you're to stay up and away from everything. Plan B, Bella. Not up for negotiation."

"Fine," she agreed, nodding a little. She turned to my dad. "We're in. The girls can run info from here."

Dad stood up straight, giving her shoulder a squeeze, and finally looked to the one person that hadn't said much: Esme. "You say no, and I'll agree to it. Your call, sweetheart."

She laughed, though there was no humor behind it. "I can't tell you no, Carlisle. I don't like it, but the thought that this guy knows you and may come for revenge? No. Do this. Be done with it."

"Yes, ma'am." He shot her a smile and turned to me. "How do you want to do this?"

I snorted, shaking my head and standing up. "You want me taking lead?"

He grinned. "I'm old, Edward. I'm ready for this to be over so I can go camping with my grandkids on their summer vacation. We have time to do this and come back. I'm willing to concede this to you." He walked to me, placing a hand on my shoulder, whispering, "I need you on this one. I hate to ask it, but the truth is, you're in charge. You know it, and I know it."

Smirking at him, I sighed. A part of me had known he was going to hand the reins to me.

"Okay," I said, nodding a little and looking around the room. I eyed the map, but that wasn't enough for me, so I decided to go ahead and get started. "Igor, I need a three-dimensional map of that island. I need weather predictions for the next two weeks. And someone get Kurt on the phone. He can't come home yet. He needs to go meet up with Eleazar."

"_Yes, Mr. Edward…"_

The holographic image rose up from the table, the details slowly filling in. I heard Rose calling Kurt as I stepped to the table.

"Sweetness," I called, turning to look at her. "Once we have a clear idea of what we're doing, you're gonna go work with Jasper."

"Yup," she agreed, grinning when Jasper gave her a fist-bump.

"Makenna." I smiled when she looked up at me. "Get me all you can on Stefan. Not that we need much, but I'd like to know who else he's employed."

"Sure thing, Edward."

I looked to Dad one more time. "Okay, call El back, tell him we're in, but I need to know exactly how we're going in. Let him know we're sending Kurt his way."

"Thank you, son," he answered.

"Don't thank me, Dad. I just want to get this done in time to see you take my kids camping before they go back to school," I told him with a grin. "That shit alone is worth it."

Dad laughed, patting the side of my face. "Then let's start planning."

**~oOo~**

**A/N… I told you it wasn't over. ;) And Bella on sniper…or as inkedupmom lovingly called her – Sniperella. LOL**

**Like I said before, there won't be an update on Sunday, so you'll have to settle for Christmas Day. I do apologize, but it's out of my hands. I'll honestly be glad when the year is over. LOL**

**You guys MUST check out JenRar's sweet Christmas tale. It's absolutely to die for sweet. It's an E/B drabblish type fic that will post every day up until Christmas. You can find the link to her on my profile. Go read **_**Christmas Magic.**_

**Until next Wednesday… Mooches, Deb ;)**


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N… I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas (or whatever you celebrate). I also want to thank all of you for the patience you've given me during this really busy time. You have no idea what that means to me. Thank you.**

**I'll let you guys get on with it. I know you missed Mercward on Sunday. ;)**

**~oOo~**

**Chapter 18**

**BELLA**

"You ready, Bellsy?" Emmett asked over my earpiece. "I've got you four targets in place."

"Thanks, Em," I answered, placing my eye up to the scope. "One, two…three…four," I muttered to myself as I located every target down the small mountain.

"Bells, account for wind, the downward slope of the mountain, and don't forget, this is for speed," Jasper advised patiently and calmly from my side.

He'd set me up with one of his own personal sniper rifles. It was an intense-looking, high-powered, deadly piece of equipment, and the one in front of him was just like it. We'd been at this shit all day. Alec, Jasper, and Emmett had hiked me up into the woods just outside of Aunt Kate's fence. It gave us plenty of room to work, but also kept the sound of gunfire from scaring the kids.

"You gonna remind me of this stuff when we're on opposite sides of that island?" I asked snarkily, but he merely chuckled, bumping my shoulder with his.

"I can, and I most likely will, but you're gonna do fine," he soothed. "You're a good shot. You just gotta get used to doing what you do from a hundred or more yards away. Yeah?"

"Yeah," I replied in a whisper, readying my weapon.

Jasper was an amazing teacher. I imagined it was due to his laidback personality and his skills as a sniper. He could sit still for hours, which wasn't something I was used to, but for this mission, I just simply needed to suck it up.

I reached down and adjusted the sandbag beneath the barrel of my rifle. Glancing over at the small ribbon Jasper had tied to a branch, I noted that the wind was blowing from my left to right. Finally, I gave one more adjustment to my scope – two clicks.

"Emmett, clear out," I ordered, simply because I couldn't see him down there.

"Copy that. You're good to go," he replied.

Letting out a long, slow breath, I pulled the trigger four times in rapid succession, working my way through the targets from my left to right and following the wind's direction. Four watermelons exploded one right after the other.

"Seems like a waste of good fruit," I teased, shaking my head when Emmett laughed as he knocked the green and red mess to the ground. I cracked up when he set a few more up, because this time, they had horrified cartoon faces drawn on them. "Really?"

"Hey, you're gonna scare these assholes, Bells. This is what they'll look like. And don't hate on my artwork!" Emmett rambled, though I could see his grin through the scope. "Besides, this is the best target we could find. Tom bought the poor guy out of every melon he had at that roadside stand. No clean up!"

"Fair enough," I sighed, sitting up for a moment as Emmett finished resetting my targets.

"You sure you wanna do this?" Jasper asked, holding up a hand. "Don't get me wrong; you're kickin' ass and takin' names with this shit. I had guys in the service that weren't as good as you are, and they were trained for years. I'm just sayin'…"

"I know what you're saying, Jasper," I sighed, wrinkling my nose a little. "Edward wants me out of the line of fire. If he hadn't needed me for Russia, he wouldn't have let me come, but he did. I understand why, you know?"

"Bethy and Sammy," Jasper stated, nodding slowly, but then his eyes lit up. "Ah, 'Plan B.'"

"Yeah," I sighed, sitting back on my heels. "I just…" I shrugged, looking down at my hands. "I just remember how helpless I felt when Sam died, you know? I _couldn't_ go with you guys back then, but I always wonder if I had…"

"That wasn't your fault, _Bellisima_," Alec stated, stepping up onto the small rock formation where we'd set up. "I told you that back then." He dropped a kiss to the top of my head and sat beside me.

"I know, but sometimes, it feels that way," I grumbled, fighting tears. "Would I have been able to stop that asshole with the RPG? Maybe Sam would still be here…"

"Or maybe Edward wouldn't be," Alec countered, raising an eyebrow at me. "_Amore_, you can't say if anything at all would've changed."

"I get that, too," I admitted, nodding once, my heart hurting at the memory of Sam's death and Edward's injury. I'd been a mess that day, and not because I'd been pregnant with Sammy at the time. I'd lost a good friend, but I'd almost lost the man that meant everything to me. "I'm just… I'm willing to do as Edward wants by staying out of the heavy shit, but I can't…_not_ go. I just can't."

"He knows that," Jasper said with a grin, nudging my foot with his own. "Edward is very protective of you, Bells, but he's not fucking stupid. He's well aware of what you can do. If you were anyone else, I don't think he'd agree to it, but you're…well, you're you. And you keep a damn level head when needed. I think that helps him. Hell, it helps all of us."

Smiling, I whispered, "Thanks, Jazz."

"Yup," he drawled, patting my leg. "Now, let's see where Emmett is. Aim at him; it'll make him move faster."

"Aw, shut the hell up, J!" Emmett growled. "I've been waiting for you assholes. No offense, Bellsy."

Giggling, I settled myself down behind my weapon. "None taken," I told him over the radio. "That's impressive, Emmett."

"Thank you, thank you," he sang. "Nail 'em all, B. I'm cleared out."

"'Kay," I sighed, letting out a breath and mentally going over the checklist in my head that Jasper had taught me: wind, distance, aim.

I ignored the sound of shuffling behind me, figuring Alec and Jasper were moving around. I counted off five watermelons, all in various places – on top of rocks, peeking out from behind shrubs, and sitting on branches. I jumped a little when strong arms braced on either side of me, but the smell of fresh cut wood assaulted my senses. Even more was the feel of a warm, hard chest pressing to my back.

"What have I told you about distractions, sweetness?" Edward's deadly velvet voice asked right in my ear. "Concentrate, love."

I felt his smile against my cheek when I giggled, but I eyed my shots quickly.

"Anything could be happening around you, Bella," he said softly, but his voice wasn't teasing anymore. "We don't know what weapons they'll have, so you have to move quickly. Take them out. All of them…now."

I popped off five shots, letting out the breath I'd been holding. Surveying the damage, I was happy that I'd cleared all but the one that was partially hidden behind a bush.

"Well?" Edward asked, kissing my cheek. "Let me see."

He closed an eye, gazing through the scope. I glanced around to see that Jasper and Alec had moved out of the way to let Edward into our little spot.

"Not bad, baby," he praised, grinning when he pulled back to look at me. "Is that the first one you've missed?"

"Yeah," I said with a laugh and a nod.

"That's my girl," he purred sweetly, kissing my lips. "How do you feel you're doing?"

"Okay. I can do this, Edward. Promise," I vowed.

He reached up to tuck a stray hair behind my ear. His eyes were the same shade of green as the trees around us, but there was a look behind them I couldn't quite place. They were loving, yet wary at the same time.

"I know you can," he said softly. "Thank you for not fighting me on this, Bella. I need you away from it all and safe. We were lucky in Russia and Norilsk."

"Yeah, I know. I just—"

"Have to watch my back," he finished for me, and even though it sounded like he was teasing, the smile on his lips didn't reach his eyes. Leaning closer, he cupped my face. "Sam wasn't your fault. He wasn't mine, either. He'd made his decision all on his own. You're forgetting his letter to us."

My eyes widened a little at the knowledge that he'd been listening in, but it made sense that he was always watching over me.

"No, I'm not," I argued, shaking my head, but I played with his fingers in my lap. "I remember it. I remember it every time I see your scar," I told him, tracing the outside seam of his jeans, where I knew there was a twisted mark from that day. "I remember it every time I look at our son, Edward. Every time he imitates you, I'm grateful for Sam, who allowed us to keep you."

"Bella…" He sighed, but leaned in to kiss my forehead almost roughly. He cupped my face, his expression fierce when he looked at me. "Baby, the only reason I want you out of this shit is so that if something fucking stupid happens you can get the fuck outta there. Hmm?" When I nodded, he smiled. "I have the _utmost_ confidence in your ability to keep us safe. I can't think of anyone else that I'd rather have watching our backs than you and Jasper." He sat up a little, bumping my chin with his finger gently. "This plan will work, sweetness. Done just right, we'll not only catch them by surprise, but we'll surround them, essentially trapping them on that island. But you know me… I need a safety net for you to get home. I can't function now without it."

Nodding, I stood up, offering Edward my hand to pull him up. I couldn't argue with him on this. Not at all. When the handsome thing in front of me had rescued me from Miller's basement, he'd been a free man, single, no attachments. He was almost careless and gung-ho about everything he did, and I'd been just as stubborn. And while that worked for what he'd done for a living up until that point, it didn't work now. The reason he'd stopped working as a soldier for hire was because he now had so much at stake: me, Bethy, and Sammy. He was a lethal weapon, but he had to approach everything differently.

"Emmett, bring it in," I told him over the radio. "We're done."

"Roger that. Awesome job, Bellsy!" he praised.

Edward stood before me, glancing up at Alec and Jasper. "El called. They're putting the crate on the boat tomorrow night."

"So it's a go," Alec verified.

"Oh, it's a go," Edward said with a nod of his head. "Kurt will be loaded up at the same time. He's been paired with Boris as 'security' for that shipment."

"So we have three asses we gotta get out of there. Those two and the MI-6 guy," Jasper stated. "Fair enough. And just when do we head out?"

"Three days. Anchorage. Our ride won't wait for us, so we'll head out day after tomorrow and stay over before we leave. Alice has already made all the arrangements," Edward explained.

Alec nodded, reaching down to pick up my sniper rifle. "Then I guess we'd better get back."

Jasper quickly disassembled the two rifles, stowing them in their case and slinging it across his back. Emmett met us at the head of the trail back toward Aunt Kate's, but Edward let them go on ahead.

"Look at me, sweetness," he whispered, reaching up to take both of our earpieces out – first mine, and then his. "About Sam…" When I opened my mouth, he placed two fingers gently on my lips. "Wait, love. Hear me out, okay?"

I nodded and kissed his fingertips before he pulled them away.

"That day…th-that m-mission…" He shook his head, his eyes filling with sadness. "Bella, not even Jasper was quick enough to stop the guy with the RPG. A-And S-Sam, h-he w-was d-determined t-to sh-shadow m-me. He insisted that he be on my team so that he could follow my every move. H-He…" He groaned, clawing at his hair. "Look, I'm really kinda glad you didn't go on that one, baby. It was a mess, and so many of us got hurt. And I couldn't imagine what you'd have done seeing all that in person. I-It w-was b-bad e-enough l-listening t-to y-you p-panic o-over th-the r-radio, o-okay?"

"Okay," I sighed, shaking my head. "I don't know why he's on my mind today."

Edward smiled sweetly, cupping my face before dropping a light kiss to my lips. "Because our plan is very similar to that one, love. The timing is about the same, too." That beautiful smile fell from his face as quickly as it had appeared. "And it doesn't help that we have to leave Bethy and Sammy again, Bella. I-I g-get th-that. I-I d-don't e-even b-begin t-to kn-know h-how t-to g-go a-about t-telling th-them."

I stood up on my toes and kissed his lips. "I know," I whispered. "We'll just…have to be honest with them. Well, as honest as we can be."

He nodded, looking down at the ground. "Let's take them to my mom's spot," he suggested softly. "We'll take them riding and tell them there."

Smiling, I nodded, because I knew that place was special for Edward. His mother took him there when she wanted to talk to him privately, so it seemed fitting for him to continue the tradition. We'd even told Bethy about Sammy's impending arrival there.

"They'd really like that, I think. Tomorrow?" I asked him.

He sighed, taking my hand. "Yeah, tomorrow."

**~oOo~**

"Down," Sammy ordered, and he was almost gruff about it, but I kissed the top of his backwards baseball cap.

"At ease, little soldier," I teased him. "Can you wait until Daddy can come get you?"

"Yeah," he sighed as his hands ran through Samson's mane.

I pulled the horse to a stop, waiting until Edward dismounted, set Bethy on the ground, and tied off Goliath. Sammy wasn't exactly a huge fan of riding. He loved to pet, feed, and groom them all, but the sheer size of them unnerved him. And if anyone understood that, it was Edward. He'd told me once that he'd been the same way growing up.

"C'mere, buddy," Edward soothed, reaching for Sammy, who immediately went to him. Once he set our boy onto solid ground, Sammy took off like lightning. Edward chuckled, looking up at me. "You got this?"

"Yup, I'm good," I told him, dismounting and tying Samson next to Goliath.

When I turned around, I had to smile, because Bethy had already spread out the blanket. Edward and I weren't exactly sure how the two would take us telling them we had to leave again, so we'd decided to spend the day just the four of us…well, six if we counted Lock and Load, who had tagged along behind us on the trail through Aunt Kate's woods.

It had been way too long since we'd come out here. I gazed around, taking in the subtle changes of Edward's favorite spot. Because it was summer, there were small flowers blooming everywhere, the trees were lush and green, and the birdhouses that he'd hung out there were all occupied – a few were obviously the sparrows that he'd originally built them for, but there were a few other birds that had moved in, as well.

Remembering the first time Edward had brought me to this little meadow made my eyes tear up with the sweet memory. We'd talked about our mothers, about how it was in this very spot that Edward had found out his mother was sick. She'd told him an old legend about the sparrows watching over him once she was gone. And the sad little boy had spent years adding birdhouses so they'd have a place to live. A glance across the field showed me that same boy – now all grown up – adding another birdhouse to a tree branch. This time, his own children had painted it.

"You look sad," Bethy noted, pulling me to the blanket.

Smiling, I cupped her face and smooched her lips. "No, not sad, just remembering the first time your daddy brought me here."

She grinned. "A date?" she squeaked.

Laughing, I said, "Something like that."

Edward's chuckle was adorable as he lifted Sammy to pour birdseed into the new house. He carried him to the others, spreading some on the ground.

"Yeah, kind of a date, little sweetness," he concurred when the two joined us at the blanket. "I was really bad at dates back then." He grinned, shooting a wink my way.

"How hard is dinner and a movie?" Bethy asked, rolling her eyes, and I was pretty damn certain my little girl watched too much TV.

Edward cracked up. "Your mother said the same thing."

Giggling, I wrapped my arms around Bethy. "Smart girl," I praised in her ear. "Dates aren't hard, and the guy doesn't always have to go crazy. But this?" I gestured to the tiny field. "This was one of my favorites that Daddy took me to, so don't let him fool you."

Edward's smile was sweet, shy, and a touch sad, which told me he was remembering our first time out there, too. He's eyes drifted around us, landing on each and every one of his birdhouses. I didn't want him to tell our kids about the sparrows. I just didn't think I'd get through the conversation. And it seemed that he was feeling the same way, so he changed the subject, reaching for the lunch I'd packed.

"Let's see what Mom put in here," he said, rummaging around in the basket.

Lunch was filled with light chatter and the kids sharing their potato chips with Lock and Load. Bethy got up at one point and picked a handful of wildflowers, handing them to me. Smiling, I turned her around and braided a few into her hair while Edward and Sammy went "esplorin'" – which actually meant that my two boys went off to use nature's restroom, but I made no mention of that to my daughter.

"When we goin' campin' with Poppy?" Sammy asked, walking up with Load by his side, as always. His little fingers dug into white and gray fur without even thinking about it.

Lock had his head in Bethy's lap, eyes closed as she toyed with an ear over and over. "Soon, right?" she asked, turning when I was done with her hair. "Daddy's suh-posed to make s'mores, and Aunt Kate got a whole bunch of sleepin' bags."

Edward sat down next to me, but decided to take his cues from his kids. "Well, that's kinda why we're out here," he told them. "I've got some good news and some bad news. What do you guys want first?"

"Good news," they both told him.

"The good news is that we're staying at Aunt Kate's longer than we thought," he told them.

Bethy's brow furrowed, giving a cheering Sammy a side-glance. "Why?" she asked shrewdly, her eyes narrowing on her dad.

"That's the bad news, little sweetness," he sighed wearily, looking to me. "We _are_ going camping, but not until your mom and I get back."

"From where?" Sammy suddenly gasped.

"We've got a little bit more work to do," I said softly, waiting until he turned my way. "All your uncles and Poppy are going, too, so camping's been put on hold for a bit."

"Aww," Sammy groaned, plucking a few blades of grass. "I don't want you to go."

"We don't want to go, either, buddy." Edward leaned back against the tree trunk behind him. He tugged off his baseball cap, raking his fingers through his hair. "I know you guys have your hopes up about camping with Poppy, but there's a bad guy out there that we have to stop."

That got their attention, and Bethy crawled over to her father's lap. "Is he the one that hurt Poppy?" she asked him in a whisper, but Sammy perked up for the answer.

Edward smiled, leaning in to kiss her forehead. "In a way…yes."

"And you're gonna catch the bad guy?" Sammy asked, looking between us, eyes wide.

"I hope so, pal," I said, smiling at him simply because he'd taken his own cap off and was running a hand through his hair.

Edward kicked my sneaker, giving me a withering glare that dared me to say it out loud, though. Snorting, I shook my head. God, I loved all three of them with a sickness, but I simply adored how much our children were like us. Some things were exactly like us – Sammy's sweet, shy personality with a touch of fierceness, and Bethy's sharp-witted, clever mind. But both were loyal and brave and strong.

"We won't be gone as long this time," I said, opening my arms for my son. He scrambled into my lap, and I wrapped my arms all the way around him, kissing his sweet chubby cheek. "Couple of days. Four or five at most."

"I don't want you to go," Sammy mumbled into my neck, and I glanced over at Edward, who was having his own conversation with Bethy.

"When are you leaving?" she asked him, looking back at me.

"Tonight, baby," he told her, kissing her temple. "We need you guys to be good for Gamma."

"Can we watch you like before?" Sammy asked, sitting up a little. "On Igor?"

Grinning, I nodded. "Absolutely," I vowed to both of them. "In fact, we'll tell Aunt Alice when we get back. Okay?"

"Are you flying?" Bethy piped up, turning around so that her back was to Edward's chest, but she looked back at him.

"Not this time," he said softly with a shake of his head. "This time, we're going on a boat, so you don't need to worry about who my co-pilot is," he teased her. "I can't replace you anyway."

She absolutely beamed at him, taking on a smug look that he'd worn more than few times since I'd known him. I simply shook my head.

"And we'll all go campin' when you get back?" Sammy asked, trying his damnedest to find a silver lining.

"Yes," Edward and I said at the same time.

That seemed enough for them at the moment, and Bethy's face then took on a wicked, mischievous expression.

"Did you guys _kiss_ out here?" she asked, which made her dad laugh and his ears turn pink.

"Maybe," he growled into her neck, wrapping her up and wrestling her to the blanket, where she squealed and wriggled in his arms.

"You did?" Sammy gasped.

Giggling, I tickled him. "We kiss all the time. This shouldn't be a surprise, handsome boy."

"Yeah, but…" Sammy started, but his sister interrupted him.

"It was _so_ long ago," Bethy guffawed.

"Not that long!" Edward argued. "But before you, yes."

"Did you _love _him then?" she asked in a sing-song manner.

"I've loved your dad since I was twelve years old. I just didn't know it until we were all grown up…when he became my hero," I told my daughter honestly, giving a shocked Edward a wink.

Bethy grinned, scooting over to me. "Yeah?"

"Yes," I stated firmly, kissing my little girl's forehead. "Your dad was too cute the first time I met him."

Edward chuckled, shaking his head. "And shy…and awkward…and skinny."

"All of that just made him cuter," I whispered to her with a giggle, and she and Sammy laughed with me.

My husband groaned, rolling his eyes and standing up. "We should get back, guys. We have to get ready to go."

We all got up and packed our things. I set an uneasy Sammy onto Samson while Edward helped Bethy onto Goliath. When I looked up, I caught him staring at me.

"What?"

"You mean that?" he asked in a whisper as we led the horses on foot toward the head of the trail.

"That you were cute?" I teased him with a grin. "Yes."

He snorted, shaking his head. "No, silly girl. About loving me since you were twelve."

I stood up on my toes, kissing his lips. "Yes, Edward. I meant it. I was crushing on you hard at the end of that day. And from that moment on, not one guy measured up. I'd be willing to bet that, had we stayed in touch, things would've turned out differently."

I was merely reiterating something we'd talked about before, but I honestly believed what I was telling him. Edward stayed quiet for a few more steps, but finally locked those warm, green eyes on me.

"Maybe," he allowed. "Th-Though, I-I'm p-pretty h-happy w-with th-the w-way th-things t-turned o-out."

How he could cause me to swoon in the middle of the woods, I had no idea, but he was damned good at it. He'd been doing it for as long as we'd been together. But the face he was giving me truly looked like that boy I'd met all those years ago – stuttering, shy, and just plain cute. On a bad day, Edward was sexy and handsome. But it was those moments – those stuttering, honest moments – that I would fall in love all over again. It was in those moments that he was my apple pie eating, awkwardly honest, wide-eyed crush again – the one who'd tripped me by accident in my own front yard.

"Me, too, baby," I simply said, kissing him briefly before putting my foot in Samson's stirrup. "I said they'd be different, not that I would change anything."

His smile was brilliant and sexy and crooked as he mounted Goliath behind Bethy. "You know what's cool about that, sweetness?" he asked, and I shook my head. He pointed his thumb at his chest. "_I_ got to show you Alcatraz."

Laughing, I wrapped a protective arm around Sammy. "Yes, Edward. Yes, you did."

**~oOo~**

**EDWARD**

The sun wasn't even up yet as the entire crew walked our way down to the docks, and we were all quiet. We were heading for the end, and even from shore, I could tell that the bastard wasn't just any fucking fishing boat. I smirked at it, shaking my head.

I'd figured out pretty damn quick that when Eleazar set us up with a ride to this island, there would be more to it. As we approached, my military mind saw it for what it truly was: a disguise. At first glance, the gray commercial-size ship was equipped with all the shit one would think would be required to get the job done. A closer inspection, however, showed a few fifty cals stashed under piles of nets and hidden in windows, and a satellite on the top, and the men manning it carried themselves like soldiers.

"Fishermen, my ass," Bella muttered to me, and I grinned her way. "That one walking toward Carlisle is packing in his left pant leg."

"Indeed, sweetness," I agreed, eyeing the guy that was shaking hands with my dad. "Though, I'd rather talk about your ass. Didn't I—"

"Don't you dare," she hissed at me, but her smile was wicked and all things naughty. "Evil, evil wake-up call, I tell you," she grumbled, rolling her eyes at my chuckle.

"Oh, yeah," I sang, draping an arm around her shoulders, "and here I was thinking about the shower." When her eyes glazed over, I snickered, kissing the side of her head. "Thanks for that, by the way."

We'd taken advantage of the hotel in Anchorage. Having the room to ourselves and the impending mission made us unable to keep our hands to ourselves. I'd not only waken Bella up prior to the alarm, but it had all carried over to the shower, where I'd taken her from behind. I was pretty sure we bent the track of the shower door, but I hadn't paid it much attention. I'd been unable to resist slick, soapy skin, and I'd needed to lose myself in Bella before we left land.

"Mmhm," she hummed, shaking her head and fighting a smile.

"You loved it," I growled in her ear. "I sure as hell didn't hear you complaining. Though the people in the room next door _definitely_ know my name by now…"

"Edward…" she groaned, but looked up at me with pure amusement all over her beautiful face, and we stopped in the middle of the dock.

"What?" I asked with a grin.

She huffed a laugh, but then kissed my lips quickly. "And no, not your name. However, I'm pretty sure they think I'm really religious."

"Huh. We'll have to fix that when we come back," I stated, nodding once.

She giggled. "Well, there's a goal if I've ever heard one."

"That's my girl," I rumbled, but let her drag me up the dock to join everyone else.

I needed that flirty, sexy shit from her, that simple, silly bullshit, and she probably knew it. This next mission had me worried, not because I didn't think the crew couldn't handle it or the plan wasn't solid, because they could and it was, but there were so many fucking lives at stake. Not only were millions of innocent people at risk with the sale of this uranium, but Kurt, Boris, and the MI-6 operative all had fallen neck deep into this fucker's web. I wasn't sure what the crew would do if something happened to one of our own.

Kurt was young, brave, having proven himself over and over. Boris, on the other hand, was pretty hardened to this type of work, but my dad wanted him out safe. The only one I didn't know was the MI-6 guy, Nicholas, but he'd obviously put his neck out to catch George Stefan, and that shit took balls. He'd been undercover for years. One look at my girl, and I fucking knew I'd go crazy if I had to leave her. I couldn't imagine how he'd done that.

"Edward?" my dad called.

"Sir." I stepped forward to meet the man standing next to him.

He was older, somewhere between my dad's age and Alec's. If I'd had to guess, the man would've been around his early fifties, but it was obvious he was in shape and that this wasn't the first time he'd done this sort of thing.

"This is Lee Finley," Dad introduced. "He'll be our captain."

"Nice to meet you, sir," I said, shaking his hand.

"Nah, no sirs around here. Everyone calls me Finn," he said with a kind smile. "And if I were you, no salutes, and try not to indicate who's in charge. You never know who's watching."

"Fair enough," I said with a nod, turning to introduce him to everyone, who also shook his hand.

"Let's get you on board. I'll introduce you to the rest of the crew and show you where you can store your things. I figure we'll cast off around sunrise," he explained, guiding us onto the boat. "We can really talk once we've left land."

The ship was crewed by Finn and three others. We were introduced to an older gentleman, Tex, who immediately struck up an easy conversation with Jasper. It seemed they were from the same area in Texas. There were two guys around my own age, as well – Shane and Paul. The former was polite, quiet, and went right back to storing rope. The latter eyed Mickey and Bella like he'd never seen a woman, but once he caught sight of Alec, Emmett, and me, he found something better to do than stare.

Finn led us below deck, pointing out a few rooms with bunks. It would be tight quarters, but we were only going to be on the boat for a couple of days. We just needed somewhere to catch some sleep.

"Edward," Finn called, leading me back up on deck. "When we hit open water, we'll go over your plan. Eleazar told me a few things, but I may have some ideas."

I smiled, but not in humor. "Can I ask… How do you know El? These people are my responsibility. I just like to know where I stand."

"It's a fair question," Finn stated calmly with a nod. "El and I were in the Navy Seals together. He brought me into the CIA a few years after he started with them." He smiled, pushing up the sleeve of his thermal shirt to show me the same ink that El had. "We troll waters for pirates," he said with a chuckle, "and not the Johnny Depp kind. Nasty fuckers that attack transports, rich men on yachts, and innocent commercial fishermen trying to make an honest living."

"Well, that explains your extra equipment on board," I told him with a smirk. "Sounds like a sweet gig, actually."

"It's not bad." He laughed. "I prefer the warmer climate to the shit we're about to go into, but hey, I go where the work is. Which reminds me… We need to go over the weather. We're gonna hit some pretty foul stuff. You'll need to dress for it."

"We know," I groaned, shaking my head. "My info team alerted me this morning. Snow in the fucking summer." I shook my head slowly.

He grinned and patted my shoulder. "This won't take long."

"True." I sighed, catching sight of Bella and Mickey laughing with Alec, and I wasn't the only one.

Paul had emerged on deck and was pulling up anchor, though his eyes betrayed him. I wasn't fucking blind or stupid; I knew those girls turned heads all the damn time. I also knew the girls were always aware of their surroundings, no matter what. It was something I'd taught Mickey ages ago and something Bella had absolutely instilled in her girls way before I came along.

"Pretty girls," Finn noted. "They any good?"

I laughed. Hard. "Yeah, you could say that."

He grinned, glancing their way as my dad walked up to join us. "Beautiful and deadly. They don't distract you?"

My dad snickered. "Quite the opposite, Finn. The one on the left? That's his wife…and my goddaughter. The one on the right? She'd break his neck for hurting the one on the left."

I cracked up, but nodded and shrugged at the same time. "Yeah, pretty much." I eyed Paul again, jerking my chin his way. "Is he going to be a problem?" I asked, the smile slipping off my face.

"Paul?" Finn verified, and when I nodded, he smirked. "He's…a ladies man. I've pulled him outta more bar fights than I can count. He's an excellent sailor, a sharp shooter, and loyal as all hell, but he's got an ego the size of Texas."

"Hmm," I hummed, narrowing my eyes.

My dad squeezed my shoulder, but looked to Finn. "He tries those two, and they'll knock that ego down a peg or two, if they don't throw him overboard."

"Then it would serve him right," Finn huffed, grinning our way. "This sounds like it's gonna be a helluva trip. Let's get outta here."

"Excellent," my dad said.

"Feel free to set up your equipment in the galley. There are also plenty of supplies, so make yourselves at home. I'll join you once we're out on open water. We'll see what you've got planned," Finn stated, walking away toward the bow to yell instructions to his crew.

My dad and I walked toward the bow to join our crew, and they all looked to me.

"Finn says we can set up in the galley. So Bella, if you could do that," I said, looking to her, and she nodded. "Treat this ship like a safe house. Got me?"

"Sir," they muttered back.

"Once we're out at sea, Finn's gonna tell us what he knows. After that, if you need rest, sleep in shifts. And you two," I grunted softly to Mickey and Bella. "One problem, and I wanna fucking know about it." I raised an eyebrow at my wife, who smirked my way.

"Eh, he's just a gawker, pretty boy," Mickey teased.

"What-the-fuck-ever. If it goes beyond that, I want to know. I'm not fucking kidding," I countered. Looking to Bella, I said, "Promise me."

"Promise, Edward." Her reply was instant, but she gave the guy in question a quick once-over.

She had sharp instincts, but she trusted mine, too. I couldn't imagine she'd put herself in an awkward position, but some arrogant assholes didn't always pick up clues. The last thing I fucking needed was Bella beating the shit out of a CIA agent simply because he touched her wrong. Then I'd have to kill the bastard. Eleazar would be pissed.

Before I left them, I said, "Last thing… Em, Jazz, go snooping. I wanna know what other weapons and shit they have on this ship."

"Hooah," they grunted, giving me grins before wandering off.

I felt Bella's hand slip into mine, and I gazed down at her.

"C'mon. You can help me set up, Edward. I wanna check on the storm that's brewing up there," she ordered as we slowly started pulling away from the docks.

I took a deep breath, watching the skyline grow smaller. I wanted to get back ASAP.

Bella's hand squeezed mine. "You okay?"

Tearing my gaze from the shore, I locked eyes with her and nodded. "Yeah, I'm okay. I just want this done."

She smiled. "Me, too. So we need to focus. Equipment setup…weather report? I'll need to sync up to this satellite, check in with Alice, and we still need to wait for Finn."

Chuckling, I was grateful for her ability to center me. "Yes, ma'am. All of the above. Lead the way."

**~oOo~**

**A/N… As of right now, Chapter 19 is well underway, so Sunday is looking good to post. ;)**

**Again, I wish all of you a happy holiday. Forget the presents…eat lots of good food, hug your family, and kick back and relax.**

**Make sure you check out JenRar's Christmas story **_**Christmas Magic**_**. It's too cute! I may be begging for more Elfella! LOL And remember, her profile and all pics and teasers can be seen on FB, Twitter, and my blog. All links are on my profile. **

**Hopefully, I'll see you Sunday. Until next time… Mooches, Deb ;)**


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N… I hope everyone had an awesome Christmas. :D I did. There's something to be said about not getting out of your pajamas for an entire day. LOL**

**I know you're worried about this mission. I know some of you are simply holding your breath for Edward to snap on Paul…or Bella. It's quite a toss-up you guys have going on. ;) I'll let you get to it… Strap in…Hold on…**

**~oOo~**

**Chapter 19**

**BELLA**

"Shit!" I gasped, fighting covers, clothes, and nonexistent clammy hands as I sat up in the bottom bunk.

"You okay?" Mickey asked, pulling a heavy hooded sweatshirt over her head before kneeling next to me.

I leaned back against the cold metal wall, bringing my knees up to my chest, which brought me back to reality, but I ran a shaky hand over my face and through my sweaty hair.

"Yeah." I jerked away when she reached out to touch my leg. "Sorry."

"Don't be. You want me to get Edward?" she asked.

I silently fought it for a second, but finally nodded, my hands falling down beside me on the bed. It was a nasty fucking dream, and my skin still felt prickly and violated. I knew the nightmares stemmed from being below deck. The cool, damp feel of the air around me, the dark room, and the closed-in feel of the bunk bed brought some old memories to the surface. I'd fought sleep for almost a whole day out at sea before Edward begged me to take a break.

Scooting to the edge of the bed, I stood up, and Mickey got out of my way. I opened the door, pointing to the hallway. "I'm just gonna go wash my face," I told her.

"Yup. I'll head up and send pretty boy your way. Okay?" she murmured, heading out into the hallway.

I went the opposite direction toward the bathroom. Just as I reached for the door, the ship shifted and the door swung open. I stumbled a bit, only to be grasped by two strong hands.

"Whoa!" Paul sang, wearing a smarmy grin.

He was a pompous thing, good-looking and quite full of himself, and even though he liked to flirt and send innuendo Mickey's and my way, so far, he'd behaved. We didn't think much of it, but Edward didn't care for the guy, so we'd kept our distance from him.

But he'd picked the wrong moment to touch me.

"Let go, let go," I hissed through gritted teeth, stumbling again when the boat surged. "Don't touch me, please!"

Paul righted me again, but didn't let go. "I'm just trying to keep you from busting that pretty ass of yours, sweatpea."

I shook my head profusely, trying to back away, but finding only unforgiving steel at my back.

"I'm not sure you're listening," I heard before Paul's grip was suddenly gone.

Emmett slammed the guy into the corridor wall, pinning him there with a large hand wrapped around his neck. "She said to let go," he sneered, and gone was my big, cuddly, fun-loving friend. In his place was a man I knew for a fact would snap Paul's neck without even batting an eye.

"I was just trying to help her," Paul wheezed, squeezing his eyes closed for a second.

"Ed's coming, B," Emmett told me without taking his eyes off Paul.

I tried to nod, but my shaking had increased almost to the point of annoyance. I hated the fact that nightmares made me feel weak, that they brought shit to the surface, and being in that tight, damp hallway wasn't helping me. At all.

"What did he do?" I heard behind me. It was the voice I needed most, but not the tone.

"Edward…" I started to face him, but he was instantly in front of me, his face level with mine.

Dark, worried green eyes raked over my face, but it was his touch that calmed the wrecked feelings crawling all over me. He cupped my face, and I couldn't help but lean into it.

"Sweetness, talk to me."

"Dream," I said so softly that he probably had to read my lips.

His fingers slid into my hair at the base of my skull, massaging the back of my neck. "I know that much, Bella. What did this guy do?"

"He…He stopped me from falling, but I can't…" I squeezed my eyes closed, focusing on the only touch that mattered, the touch that, above all others, soothed me. "It's not his fault, Edward. He doesn't know."

"Hmm," he hummed, dropping his forehead to mine. "Did you need the bathroom, love?" he whispered, and when I nodded, he pulled back, opened the door, and guided me in. "I'll be here when you're done."

Nodding, I reached for the door to close it, but stopped when Edward jerked a chin to Emmett. He took his place in front of Paul, and his voice was low, deadly…a warning.

"Touch her again, and I'll rip your fingers off one by fucking one and feed them to you," he sneered low. "Do I make myself crystal clear?"

"I was just helping her," Paul snapped, stepping up into Edward's face.

Edward had two inches in height on the guy, and Emmett, who was standing by just in case he was needed, wearing a hopeful, yet dark expression, had another inch or so. However, my husband was broader-shouldered and so protective of me that he'd snap if Paul even flinched. Luckily, the man was smart enough to stand still.

"She doesn't need your help," Edward countered. "On her worst day, she'd kick your ass, but when she tells you something, you'd better fucking listen."

"Possessive much, asshole?" Paul growled, and then quickly found himself back up against the wall.

Edward's forearm was crushing his throat, but it was the sick, twisted smile on my husband's face that made me reach for him. Emmett, however, stepped in my way, shaking his head.

"Motherfucker, you don't know shit," Edward snarled. "So I'll clue you the fuck in. Okay?" he asked sarcastically. "She doesn't like to be touched by people she doesn't know…number one. Number two, she doesn't fucking _know_ you. Number three…the last asshole that touched her without permission was a sadistic little fucker. I made sure he rotted in a hole in the ground for six months before I gave him permission to die. Got me?"

Edward slammed his forearm against Paul's throat for emphasis, causing the man to groan when his head met hard steel. I wasn't sure if I wanted to punch Edward or kiss him. He would always protect me. It was deeply ingrained in him. However, something about what Edward had said, or the tone in which he'd said it, made Paul stop.

His eyes narrowed, glancing from Edward to Emmett and finally to me. He relaxed in Edward's grip. "What happened?"

Edward shook his head and shoved off of him, but it was Emmett that said, "Believe me, you don't wanna know, dude. Seriously."

"Edward," I called him, and all the boys froze like they'd forgotten I was even there.

When he turned to face me, he shook off the harsh, cold look in his eye.

"He didn't know, and he kept me from falling. The timing was poor," I whispered, shaking my head. "Just…leave it."

Edward stepped across the hallway, reaching up to cup my face, but his thumb swiped gently beneath my eye. The contrast from fierce protector and gentle caretaker was immense. Huge. Black and white. And it was something he'd been doing for me since he'd wrapped a leather jacket around my battered body and yanked me from the depths of hell. I wasn't even sure he was aware he did it.

Paul straightened up, smoothing out his clothes. "My apologies, Bella."

I nodded, waving it away, but turned to the sink to start some warm water.

"Can she do this?" he whispered, most likely to Emmett, but Edward couldn't stop his mouth if he tried.

"Worry about yourself, asshat. What she can and can't do is no fucking concern of yours. Got me?" he practically growled through gritted teeth.

"Fine, whatever," Paul said with raised hands. "It's your fucking necks. I don't give a shit."

"Oh my fucking hell…" Edward snapped, pointing to Emmett. "Get him the fuck away from me before I snap his goddamn neck!"

"Paul!" Finn snarled from the stairs leading up to the deck. "We're in very cold, shark-infested waters. If they throw you over, I'm not even gonna slow this bastard down. Am I clear?"

"Yeah," Paul sighed, walking his way. "You should check that temper of yours, cocksucker," he tossed over his shoulder.

"Mm, I'll take that under advisement, princess," Edward snarked back.

"Get up here, take the fucking wheel, and shut the fuck up," Finn ordered Paul, who disappeared up the steps.

Shaking my head, I turned to the water, finally washing my face and drying it. I stepped out to the hallway, ignoring the over six foot puppy I had trailing after me. When I went back into the room, Edward entered behind me, closing the door. He sat on the edge of the bottom bunk while I pulled on a thick hoodie over my thermals. I could feel the air getting colder the farther north we went.

I reached out for his hand, and he took it, allowing me to tug him to his feet.

"Sweetness, are you okay?" he asked worriedly.

"I will be when I get out of this steel room, Edward," I told him, pulling the door open.

I couldn't get up the stairs quickly enough. I needed open space, clean air, even if it was damp and cold. I walked straight out to the bow, leaning against the railing and letting my eyes close as I took long, deep breaths. Warmth surrounded me as Edward wrapped himself around me from behind.

"Talk to me. Please," he whispered in my ear.

"It was just a dream, Edward," I sighed, finally able to relax in his arms. "But I honestly don't think we can take this boat back home."

Edward was quiet for a moment, his fingers giving me his touch – one hand under my clothes, flat against the skin of my stomach, and the other toying with my hair.

"Okay," he finally conceded. "I'll tell Dad. Maybe we can get his private plane to pick us up somewhere."

I turned in his arms, and he caged me in against the railing as he gazed down at me. "You really don' t like him," I stated.

"I really fucking don't," he sighed, dropping a kiss to my forehead before pulling back to look out over the water. "I'm sure he's fine at what he does, but he's a smug prick who thinks he can charm anything with tits."

My head fell back as I laughed."Well, gosh, Edward! Doesn't that sound familiar?"

Edward fought his smile and lost, and his chuckle was soft, embarrassed. "Was I that bad?"

"Worse," I said with a giggle. "You were cranky, snippy, and bossy on top of all that."

He grinned and shook his head, dropping his lips to mine. "Wh-Whatever d-did y-you s-see i-in m-me, s-sweetness?" he sputtered, and I knew that wasn't a rhetorical question. He really wanted to know.

I cupped his face, my brow furrowing. "Everything."

Edward's smile was shy, sweet, and just plain sexy before he kissed me. I wanted to tell him that it was that stutter that did it, that sweet honest sound that reminded me of the incredibly cute thirteen-year-old I'd met so long ago. I wanted to tell him that it was every time he'd pick me up, dust me off, hug me when I was shattering to pieces, or push me when I thought I'd reached a dead end, but I didn't get a chance.

"Guys," Carlisle said, walking up to us. We separated, and he smiled my way, reaching up to tap my chin. "You okay, sweetheart?" When I nodded, he kissed my forehead. "Good. We're coming up on our stopping point. We'll drop anchor for a few hours and then move on in. I'd like to go over the plans with everyone one more time."

"Sir," Edward stated, nodding once. "We also need a last-minute equipment and coms check."

"Exactly. So let's get everyone in the galley as soon as we stop, hmm?" Carlisle suggested, and he started to turn, but stopped, facing his son. "And son, you have to set aside whatever your feelings are for that guy. I don't give a fuck what you have to do. They're helping us in ways that could get them in serious trouble. Copy?"

Edward's lip curled in anger, but he nodded. "Ten-four."

Carlisle studied his son for a moment, but turned to me. "That being said, he won't touch you again. I made sure of it."

My eyebrows shot up at his unforgiving tone. Despite what he used to do for a living, Carlisle had become mellow and calm in the years I'd been with Edward, but that cold tone, that fierce gaze, revealed the no-nonsense man he used to be.

"'Kay," I whispered, with wide eyes. "Do I want to know?"

"No," he stated firmly, walking away.

Edward turned to me. "You ready to do this?" he asked, his eyes a sharp green in contrast to the gray clouds and water around us. "Or do you need a minute?"

I let out a deep breath, giving myself a second. The eerie feelings that the nightmare had left me with were gone. They'd been sharp, but as always, Edward had pulled me from the abyss, even with all the arguing with Paul.

I shook my head."Nope, I'm ready."

**~oOo~**

**EDWARD**

The galley seemed to be fuller than usual with all of us in there crammed around the computers, but I was pretty sure it was due to the heavier, thicker coats we were all wearing. It was snow camouflage – white with gray and black, all digitized to blend into our surroundings. And our surroundings were going to be snow, sleet, and damn cold, not to mention the black of night.

"The snow won't stick," Alice chattered over the video chat. "But it will give you cover at least for the night. A real-time satellite image shows approximately two dozen warm bodies on that island. I've tracked the uranium to the center-most part of the main building."

"And our targets?" I asked, strapping on neoprene gloves, which would allow for movement of my fingers, but insulate the heat. Once they were on, I traded my black baseball cap for a white one.

"They left Kurt on the transport. He's already reunited with Eleazar. However, Boris made sure that he was taken. He gave them enough 'help' getting in that they allowed him to stay with the crate. Unfortunately, he's not chipped, and neither is our MI-6 guy." The picture of a man's face popped up on the main screen.

Makenna's face took over the video. "Edward, this is Nicholas. He knows you're coming. Eleazar got a message to him during the takedown of the transport ship."

The face on the screen was a guy in his mid-twenties, with light brown hair, hazel eyes, and a small scar just below his right eye. Memorizing his face, I noted that the scar would be my identifying mark when making sure I didn't accidentally kill this guy. Eleazar had requested that we pull him out if possible. My objective was the uranium, but I was going to damn well try to get this MI-6 guy out of the line of fire. My dad, on the other hand, was all about finding Boris and hunting this Stefan asshole down. He was determined to end this guy, if only to stop any more nukes from being sold. He wasn't the only fucker selling them, but one less asshole was one less asshole, according to Carlisle Cullen.

My eyes raked over my crew as Alice gave coordinates, calibrated trackers, and adjusted cameras. Bella and Jasper were camouflaging their weapons, tying white and light gray strips of fabric to them in order for them to not stand out. My father was studying the map of the island we'd be attacking, his head close to Alec's as they verified where everyone would go in. Emmett was loaded down with weapons. We'd been asked not to destroy the building if at all possible, but he carried the grenades just in case. And finally, Mickey, who was pulling on the same type of gloves I was while glaring at the picture of Nicholas and committing him to memory.

Every last one of them were focused, ready, and determined to get this shit done. We were hoping for it to all be over by the time the sun came up. However, the weather, the unknown of this island, and Stefan's desperation made me fucking nervous. I wasn't quite sure what he'd do if he realized that not only was he surrounded, but his own man had set him up. Fifty million would make anyone twitchy. The _loss_ of fifty million could make a man snap completely. And this asshole had no idea that the money had already been taken off the table, and we were pushing the time limits as it was for him to find out.

Finn stepped down into the galley. "Edward, you're prepped and ready. The two dinghies are fueled up and tied along the starboard bow. If I were you, I'd get to it ASAP, before the heavier part of this weather takes hold. It'll be easier to maneuver in it if you're on solid ground."

"Roger that," I grunted with a nod, snatching up my Sig and draping it across my shoulder. "And thank you."

"We'll be here," he said, shaking my hand firmly. "I'd like to help you, but the most I can do is cover the water if someone slips through."

"That's…plenty," I said gratefully. "In fact, you probably shouldn't even be doing that, but your secret's safe here," I added, gesturing to my crew. Turning to face the room, I cleared my throat. "Let's load up. You know your teams, you know the plan, and I'd like to be eating Tex's cookin' by sunup."

The old man grinned from behind the stove, raising a coffee mug in salute. "Whatever you want, I'll cook it. Kick ass out there."

"Hooah!" we all grunted, stepping up out of the galley and onto the deck.

The wind was sharp and bitingly cold. The snow swirled around us in heavy flurries, but it wasn't as bad as I was expecting, though it was quite possible the weather would get worse by the time we reached shore.

We were anchored a safe distance from our target location on the other side of one of the smaller islands. We simply had to skirt the outside heading northeast. From there, we'd separate into two teams.

Shane and Finn helped load us into the dinghies, giving us a small wave once we were started up.

My dad, Alec, and Bella were in mine, and I tugged Bella's jacket, pulling her ear to my mouth. "Watch your surroundings, sweetness. And watch that those gloves don't knock your feel for the trigger off a bit."

She nodded, adjusting her snow camo jacket up tighter around her. "Okay."

I was actually grateful for the wind. We were heading directly into it, which caused the sound of the small motors to get carried away from our target. When we emerged on the southern side of our intended island, I gave a silent signal to Jasper's team to split up. He had Emmett and Mickey. We'd have a sniper in a held position on the east and west of the lab, a team of three, and a team of two going in stealthy and silently. The weather was doing us a favor; it had brought all the pacing guards inside the lab. We'd have zero resistance up to the building.

When we reached shore, I stepped out, dragging the dinghy up onto land and tying it down as best I could. We'd need the bastard to get back to Finn.

"J, check in," I called over the radio.

"We're on shore, setting up for stage one," he stated.

"Roger that," I told him, using hand signals to lead my team up onto higher ground. I wanted Bella set and in position before Alec, Dad, and I took off.

"Bella, set up here," my dad ordered, kneeling down behind a natural rock wall. It gave her a perfect overview of not only the area surrounding the lab, but a straight shot to the metal catwalks that wound their way from the top of the building to the bottom.

She settled herself down, and I kneeled down next to her.

"Look at me, sweetness," I ordered, pointing to my eyes. "I want constant communication from you. You tell me everything you see from here. J, that goes for you, too, once you're set up. Am I clear?"

"Yes," Bella said, nodding.

"Ten-four, Ed," Jasper replied.

Bella leaned up, kissing me quickly. "You stay safe."

"Stay sharp," I countered like I always did, but I reached down to her thigh holster, pulling out her nine mil and setting it near her. "Just in case you find yourself with company. Got me?"

She grinned, pulling her hood up as the snow got heavier. "Go. I've got your back."

"Don't I know it," I chuckled, staying crouched as I led Alec and my dad down the slope toward the outer edge of the lab's property. "Everyone, on me. Alice, talk to me, pixie."

"Okay, okay, okay," she chanted. "Thanks to Jack Frost, you've got zero signs of life anywhere other than the building. There's a concentrated source of them in the upper level, which must be some living quarters or some shit. You've got three guards pacing the catwalks on each side. Copy that? _Each side_."

"Ten-four," I acknowledged. "Sweetness, Jazz, those guys are on you. We can't cross the fields without those lookouts gone."

"Copy that," they both replied.

Jasper started humming, and I snorted to myself at his song choice. Alec grinned, shaking his head as the notes of _We Will Rock You_ came floating softly over the earpieces in Jasper's soft, mellow tone. I wasn't sure Queen was supposed to be sung with a southern drawl, but it kept Jasper calm and focused, so I couldn't fucking say a word.

However, he paused long enough to instruct Bella. "Bells, this wind needs three clicks. Make sure you account for it. And if I were you, I'd start at the bottom and work your way up. That way, they don't see the bastards fall."

"Ten-four, Jazz," she answered him.

Putting the NVGs up to my eyes, I listened to the two of them – Jasper's humming and Bella's counting to herself. I couldn't see his side of the building, but my girl had a tough call to make, because there were two assholes walking together in the middle, with a single target at the bottom. And it was that guy she aimed for first.

There wasn't a sound heard, but he jerked hard, his body falling over the railing. He landed without a sound to the snowy drift below.

"Ooh-wee," Alec praised softly. "That's one, _Bellisima_."

"Two to go," both Bella and Jasper advised.

My eyes went back to the two guys walking together. They were completely ignorant to their buddy's fate.

I saw another man fall from the other side, but Bella still hadn't taken her shot.

"Sweetness, you'll have to do it quick. One right after the other," I suggested. "Don't give the last one a chance to raise the alarm."

"I know," she murmured over the earpieces.

"East side is clear," Emmett advised.

"Copy that. Hold for my say," I ordered.

I heard Bella mutter softly to herself and then a whoosh of a long, nervous breath being let out. Watching though the night vision, I shook my head. The two men made a turn to take their walk back toward the other end. She took them out perfectly – one right after the other – with one collapsing to the ground below and one falling into a heap on the catwalk.

"Go, go, go," I ordered, pulling my weapon and readying it. "Awesome job, sweetness." I turned to my dad. "We gotta get up those steps and move that body before someone comes to check."

"Sorry, Edward. It was the only way," Bella stated as my team hit the metal stairs at a run.

"It was damn good work, baby," I panted, taking the next level of stairs three at a time. "No apologies necessary. Just watch for company."

"Of course," she chirped, and I wanted to chuckle at the smile in her voice. My girl was smug right about now, as she should be.

I rounded the next set of steps, coming out on the catwalk in the middle. The door we were aiming for was at the end. I stepped quietly and carefully toward the guard's body. With a quick shove, he dropped to the snow drifts on the ground.

"Problem solved, sweetness," I told her.

"Hide!" she ordered, and all three of us melted against the pipes and metal framework.

The wind yanked the door out of someone's hand, slamming it back, but before he could close it, he was already falling to the ground below.

"Thanks, love," I whispered, jerking my chin to Dad.

He and Alec covered the door as I eyed just inside. The hallway was stark white, the fluorescents almost blinding.

"Okay, Emmett," I whispered. "Work your magic."

Emmett's job was to kill the power. This whole building was working off a couple of generators on the top floor. We knew if we killed their power, it would send them into a panic, but we had the advantage with the NVGs.

Plastering my back against the doorway, I pulled my goggles down, waiting until Alec and my dad did the same. The soft hum of the generators was hardly noticeable in the wind of the snow storm, but when they shut down, the silence was almost deafening. And the blinding green that showed the lights inside immediately dimmed to something much easier to handle.

"Heads up, heads up, heads up," Alice chanted. "You just sent them scattering. Well, a couple, anyway. Lazy asses. You've got two warm bodies heading your way, Mickey."

"On it," Mickey replied.

"No, Mick, I got this," Jasper drawled. "Slip back."

"Roger that," she answered him.

I couldn't see that side, but I trusted Jasper to handle it. And handle it, he did. I don't think I'd taken two steps into the deserted hallway before he called Mickey and Emmett clear to move on inside.

"Edward," Rose called. "Your side is clear to make your way in. No movement."

"Copy," I whispered.

Dad, Alec, and I took the hall slowly, silently, only stopping when voices met our ears. And from the muffled tones, they sounded like they were coming from the end of the hall. We came to a juncture in the hall, and I found the muzzle of my gun right in Mickey's face. She merely grinned and batted it away.

Using silent signals, I told them to split up. The main living facility had two entrances. We were going in on both sides. But here was where I needed Alice the most.

"Pixie," I whispered, bracing myself to kick the door in.

"Edward, listen. You can't go in there guns blazing. I can't tell one warm body from another. You could kill Boris or Nicholas." When I hummed in acknowledgment, she went on. "Might I suggest a flash disc? You can see them, but they can't see you."

Alec slapped my shoulder with the back of his hand, holding out two discs. He nodded in agreement, but he also handed me a small camera. Kneeling down, I slid it underneath the door.

I removed my goggles, studying the scene playing out on my camera. Alec spoke so quietly that I almost couldn't hear him as he looked on over my shoulder.

"Toss them straight in. You've got a group in the middle – I'd say sitting at a table. You've got a couple along the side to your right…most likely a couch or along the wall," he advised. "The two along the side…show them again. One of them could be Boris."

My eyebrows shot up at his guess, but he was right. Two men sat side by side, and one was bound and gagged.

"Be advised," Rose stated. "You've got a cluster of heat sources one level above you, and that's where the uranium is transmitting."

"Well, shit just got a helluva lot harder," I murmured, pulling the camera back and stowing it in my bag as I stepped away from the door. "Em, your door is directly across from mine. You'll not aim anything near the wall to your left…my right. Copy?"

"Ten-four," he whispered. "Turnin' on the kitchen light, but the roaches will scatter…"

"No shit," I sighed. "Bella, J, you'll catch anything that comes out of this building, especially if they're carrying anything…and _no one _fucking makes it to a goddamn boat. Am I clear?"

Both answered quickly and affirmatively.

"Flash discs first?" Emmett asked.

"Hell yes," I hissed, jerking my chin to Alec to kick the door in. "In three, two…one!"

Alec kicked hard, and the door gave way. I didn't even look inside; I just slid my two discs inside across the floor, plastering my back against the corridor wall. Pulling my goggles back down, I flinched at the pop-pop-pop of my discs and Emmett's going off, almost simultaneously. The flashes were blinding through the goggles, but it didn't last long. The room erupted in several different languages and furniture being turned over. Dad took position in the hallway, kneeling and aiming toward the door.

"Everyone, down on the ground!" Emmett ordered, setting off a loud set of bullets into the ceiling. "Let's go! Down! If you don't speak my language, you may be shit outta luck."

Some fool decided to test him – or he didn't speak English – and raised his gun. None of us thought twice, leveling every man with a weapon with several shots.

"Clear," Mickey and Alec called out as Emmett nudged a fucker or two with his boot.

"Carlisle!" I heard to my right, and Dad rushed to Boris, who wasn't looking so hot.

He was alone, sitting up against the wall, and apparently, the other person that had been sitting with him was some sort of guard. That guy was lying with the rest of his pals. Pulling out my knife, I cut the ties around Boris's ankles and his wrists. He was pale, sweaty, and shaking.

"Boris, you okay?" I asked, checking his eyes and pulse. I couldn't find a mark on him.

"Yeah, yeah…just tired. There's more…there's a storage room…the crate…" he wheezed, but he was gripping my dad tenaciously. He pointed to the ceiling above us.

I smiled ruefully at the sound of panicked running, yelling, and curses. "Dad, if you want this guy, I suggest you get your ass up and come with me. Emmett, Mickey, get Boris down to one of the boats. Advise Jasper before you step outside those damn doors. He's likely to kill you all."

Jasper chuckled, but said nothing more.

Emmett, the strong bastard that he was, simply reached down and lifted Boris to his feet, wrapping his arm around his shoulder. Before Dad and I could walk away, Boris grabbed my dad's jacket.

"I held them off the British kid as long as I could, but Stefan was suspicious from the get-go. I'm afraid I've gotten too old for this shit, Cullen," he whispered, smirking a little, but the man was weak.

"You and me both, Zukov. When we're done, we'll sit back with a drink, yeah?"

"Yeah, sure," Boris muttered, and that shit didn't sound good to me, but I didn't say anything. My dad wasn't stupid; he could see it, too.

"Let's go," I said, pointing toward the door. Turning to Emmett, I said, "Be careful with him. Watch your surroundings."

"Yeah, Ed. I hear ya," Em grunted, practically carrying Boris out into the corridor.

Alec took lead on the stairs up to the next level. We stayed close to his back as Emmett called out to Jasper that he was stepping outside. I could also hear Bella catching a couple of men trying to escape.

The door wasn't fully closed when we made it up the steps, but I took the opportunity to hurry to the other side, bracing myself for a glance inside.

"Edward, you're at the uranium's tracking location," Rose advised over the com links. "You've got a man just on the other side of the wall that you're on, there's another on the wall opposite Alec, and there's movement – lots of movement. Looks like someone pacing. All in all, there's a total of six bodies inside that room. The problem is…we don't know which one is Nicholas Gruber."

I couldn't answer her or I'd be busted, not that they weren't panicked at the sound of gunfire. I could hear it in their hissing instructions to each other. The problem was that we were blind going in. Using hand signals, I made a plan with Alec. We'd take down the two guards at the door and use one as a shield. However, I'd have to change from my Sig to my Glock to get this shit done.

My dad lowered himself to a kneeling position, aiming toward the room. Slowly, carefully, I reached inside, wrapping my hand around the guard's mouth and pulling him from the room at the same time that Alec kicked the door open into the other guard's face. He kicked the fucker so hard that he collapsed to a heap in the corner.

"Don't come any closer!" a voice called out.

"Don't fucking move," I hissed in the guard's ear, pointing my Glock underneath his chin. I stepped us into the doorway, smiling at the sight before me.

Two men stood at the far back of the room. George Stefan stood in front of my motherfucking crate, only he had his own shield: Nicholas Gruber.

"Kill the extras," I ordered Alec.

Two shots went off, and the two in the back of the room were ended, leaving a very nervous Stefan holding a rather calm Nicholas.

"Kill him. He doesn't matter," Stefan said, jerking his chin toward the man in my grip.

"Nice boss you got there, asshole," I muttered, rolling my eyes.

Dad and Alec stepped slowly into the room, and they, too, had changed from automatic rifles to their handguns, both aimed Stefan's way. And they continued to move slowly apart, essentially surrounding him.

"I'll kill him!" he threatened, pulling the hammer back on his gun at Nicholas's temple.

"Okay," Alec shrugged, feigning indifference. "We don't know this guy. We just came for the crate, Stefan."

When Stefan realized who the other man in the room was, his eyes narrowed. "Cullen?" he asked. "I thought…you were supposed to be dead!"

"Hmm, 'fraid not," my dad sang. "You know, you won't get out of this alive, George. I gotta take that crate."

"Do you have any idea what this shit is worth?!" he yelled, nudging the crate with his foot.

"Not fifty million," Alec taunted with a grin. "Your North Korean buyer has backed out. They don't want anything to do with it. This shit's too hot now. You'll never sell it."

Stefan flinched, his rage reaching a peak, but I took the opportunity to pull the trigger, dropping his guard at my feet.

I pointed my Glock at Stefan's head. "There are three guns aimed at your head, Stefan. Odds are, someone's gonna hit the mark. Step away from the crate. We're taking it, whether you like it or not."

My gaze dropped to Nicholas, who was fighting Stefan's arm around his neck for air. However, his eyes slipped past us, widening just enough to make me look. The guard that Alec had knocked out was coming around, pulling his weapon out. I fired off three shots into the guy, and four more popped inside the small room.

When I turned back around, Nicholas was writhing on the floor next to Stefan, who had two shots in the middle of his forehead.

"Dammit," I grunted, kneeling next to the guy. "How bad?"

"Bloody fucking hell," Nicholas growled, holding his bicep. "I guess it could be worse."

Grinning, I ripped off a piece of Stefan's shirt, tying it around his arm. "The name's Cullen. Eleazar sent us."

"Yeah, I figured." He sat up with a little help from me, leaning back against the wall. "I'm glad that's over. What a foul git he was," he sighed, allowing me to help him to his feet.

"You're gonna bleed out. We need to get moving," I warned him. "Can you walk?"

"Yeah, I'm good," he sighed, reaching for my hand. "Thanks."

"C'mon. You can thank me when we get you someplace to clean that up," I told him, jerking a chin to Alec to help me with the crate.

We made our way back down to the next level, and I stopped us just before the outside doors. "Sweetness, we're comin' out. Don't shoot, baby. That'd really suck."

"Copy that," she said with an absolutely adorable giggle. "Everybody okay?"

"I've got a wounded man, love. Just be waiting at the boat, copy?"

"Ten-four."

The weather had calmed down from snow to really fucking cold rain, but we made our way down to the dinghy.

"Jazz, check in!"

"I got a problem!" he yelled, but was counting off. "One, two, three, four, five…._breathe_!"

"Eddie, we gotta haul ass to Finn. Boris is having a heart attack. He collapsed just as we got to the shoreline. We just now got him breathing," Mickey advised.

"Then, go! We'll be right behind you," I grunted, setting the crate inside our dinghy.

"Copy that," she replied.

Bella was a fucking sight for sore eyes when I turned around. "You heard."

"I did," she said, getting in the boat, followed by Alec and my dad. She pulled out the first aid kit, making Nicholas sit beside her. "Hey, I'm Bella."

"Pleasure," he said, his British accent thick and soft. "You always come prepared?"

"Uh…yeah," she huffed, rolling her eyes. "I never know with these guys. I can at least put pressure on that arm until we get to the ship."

I sat down at the motor, starting it up and chuckling her way, but she ignored it. "Your faith is overwhelming, sweetness."

She cracked a smile. "Shut it, Edward. I need out of this cold."

"And we need to get to Boris," my dad added, but his voice didn't sound so confident.

"Roger that," I said, tearing out across the water. My eyes landed on the crate at my feet, and I let out a big sigh of relief that it was finally in the right hands. Permanently.

**~oOo~**

**A/N… The mission isn't quite over. They still need to get the hell out of Dodge. ;)**

**And it was Edward that snapped, simply because Bella was incapable of doing so at the moment. It was inevitable that she have a minor panic attack, simply for how cold and close those cabins can be.**

**I want to thank everyone that voted over at RobAttack for **_**Fire & Ice**_**. It came in 3****rd**** place for most rec'd WIP. :D And **_**Blood & Glory**_** won 2****nd**** place for Classic Completed fic. So thank you!**

**Make sure you check out JenRar's outtake (a much more…erm…mature outtake) for **_**Christmas Magic**_**. It's called **_**Making Christmas Magic**_**, and it's some good, sexy elf-lovin'. ;) You can find her through my profile.**

**Chapter 20 is well under way, so Wednesday is lookin' good for the next update. Which reminds me… It's looking like 22 chapters total to be complete. See you Wednesday… Until then… Mooches, Deb ;)**

**[Note from JenRar: Deb asked me to post this for her. She caught her hubs' sickie germs, so she's in bed...and that means Wednesday's post will be delayed. Whether she waits to post until next Sunday or when she's feeling better will most likely be determined by how much she has to write to finish Chapter 20, so please, be patient and send her good thoughts! – Jen]**


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N… I need to thank you all for the get well wishes. I'm feeling much better, but I'm not 100% and I'm completely behind on everything. So…this is what I'm gonna do. There are 2 more chapters after this one – one regular and then the epi. When they're written, beta'd, and preread, then they'll post. I apologize, but the schedule is out the damn window. **

**This picks up from the moment they left the little island, so I'll let you get to it…**

**~oOo~**

**Chapter 20**

**BELLA**

"Edward, we've still got movement on that island," Rose stated just as we reached Finn's ship.

"Aw, fuck," Edward hissed, shaking his head. "Copy that, Rose. Gimme a sec."

We tied off next to Jasper's dinghy, and Edward immediately went into action.

"Dad! Get up top, toss down some rope. We gotta help Nicholas to the deck. There's no way he'll be able to climb," he ordered. "Then I'm gonna go back…take care of whoever's left."

Carlisle was up and out of his seat quickly, clambering up the side.

Nicholas flinched when I applied more pressure to his shoulder, but looked to Edward. "Don't," he grunted, shaking his head profusely. "You don't need to go back. There's only one boat. You just have to destroy it. It's docked on the upper west side of the island."

The rope fell with a thump to the side of the rubber boat we were in. Edward secured it underneath Nicholas's arms, giving it a tug to alert Carlisle.

"You don't have to pull me. Just keep me from falling. My legs and right arm still work," he instructed.

Edward smirked, telling that to Carlisle through the com link as he braced Nicholas against the ladder. "Up you go." He turned to me, grabbing my waist. "You're next, sweetness."

"You're not going back alone, Edward," I snapped, pointing to the ladder. "I don't give a fuck who's left. You first."

His nostrils flared, but he sighed deeply. "Rose," he grunted over the com link. "Where's that movement?"

"On the west side of the island. Looks like a boat dock," she replied.

"Have they reached the boat yet?" he asked.

"No, they're moving slowly, so you have time to get to them," she stated.

"Edward!" Finn yelled from above. When we both looked up, he said, "Get up here. I'll swing us around that way. We gotta head that way anyway."

Edward nodded, lifting me up onto the ladder. I scurried up to the top, where Carlisle was waiting to lift me over the railing. Edward was right behind me.

"How close can you get us?" I asked Finn.

"Pretty close, Bella, but not close enough you can get to shore. What'cha thinkin'?," he asked as Paul secured the dinghies on the side deck.

"Just get me over there. I've got an idea." Once he left us, I turned to Edward. "I need my bow and about four arrows. They're in the cabin. Meet me at the bow." I swung around to Carlisle. "I know you want to check on Boris, but I need your help. I need some rags and something flammable."

"I got it!" Paul offered. "Come with me."

He led me to a side storage door, yanking it open. Inside was what looked like tools and spare parts, and it smelled of oil and fuel. He snatched up a few clean rags and then handed me a little can of lighter fluid and a lighter from his pocket.

"Perfect. Thank you," I said rushing around him, but I could hear him following me.

Edward was already where I needed him to be. The sound of the ship's engine was growling around us as we started to move.

"Rose, where's our guy?" I asked, ripping up one rag into four strips.

"At the dock. If you're gonna move, you need to do it quickly. You're closer than you were, but not close enough," she advised.

"Ten-four."

"Wrap the strips around the ends," I told Edward, but he'd already started to copy what I was doing.

In less than sixty seconds, we had four arrows ready to go, and Edward doused the ends in lighter fluid. We were making our way around the west side of the island, our pace picking up. When we were just past the spot we'd originally landed at the start, a dock and a rather impressive yacht started to appear.

Edward snatched up the lighter, but he leaned close to me, handing me a bare arrow. "Aim for that fuel can on the deck first. Spill that shit everywhere. Got me, sweetness?"

Taking the arrow, I pulled back, aiming for the five-gallon tank that was sitting just under the railing. There was a metallic thunk when it hit, and a fine stream of gasoline shot out, creating a puddle around it.

Edward handed me the first arrow with the rag, and I held it out for him to light, which he did. "Here goes nothin'," I stated, my eyes locking onto my target: the center of that now very large puddle of gas.

It was harder to aim with the flickering flame at the end of my weapon, but I did my best. Pulling back on the bow, I aimed toward the back near the engine. The arrow hit the mark, immediately engulfing the back of the yacht in flames. I locked my sight on the next target, the satellite up top, which also happened to be the roof just above the ship's wheel. That sent a rather weak-looking man out of hiding, but I could see that he was fatally wounded. The engine tried to start on the yacht, but failed, and I could see why... Most of the engine was in flames.

"Tell Finn to floor it. There's one more gas can or oil can, and it and the engine are about to blow," I said to either man at my side, but it was Paul that called the order in on his radio.

"Now, baby," Edward urged me.

Letting the arrow go, I whooshed out a breath when it hit its mark. I gripped the railing when Finn gunned the ship's engine. We were safely away when the boat, now completely engulfed in flames, exploded. It sent a fireball high into the sky, taking the dock and the man on board with it.

Edward chuckled, kissing the side of my head. "My baby's got a new toy," he taunted against my skin, but there was a sexy purr laced through his tone.

"Mm, indeed," I said with a grin, kissing his lips. "Thanks for your help. I'm gonna go check on Boris and Nicholas."

"If you're talking about the old man the others brought on board, he's stable, but he needs a hospital," Paul, who I'd completely forgotten was there, piped up. "We're heading to Svalbard. It's a province of Norway, an island just west of here. It'll take a few hours, but Finn gave the old man some nitroglycerin. I don't know about the Brit you brought with you."

I nodded and started to walk away from the two of them, but I stopped to turn back to Edward. "I guess El can meet us there."

"Yeah, I'll get a message to him, sweetness," Edward agreed.

I took no more than two steps before I heard Paul's snide remark. "Boy, you are one pussy-whipped bastard, aren't you, sunshine?"

Before I could react, there was an unmistakable sound of fist meeting flesh, quickly followed by the snap of cartilage and a groan. Just as I rushed back to Edward, he was pulling his fist back again.

"Stop," I grunted, pulling back on Edward's arm.

I realized that Edward had merely been waiting for an excuse to hit Paul, but the pompous asshole seemed to be picking a fight, and right now – just after a mission – Edward would gladly give him one. He was standing there with clenched fists, his jawline rolling with each grit of his teeth, and his eyes were cold, deadly.

"Are you insane?" I asked the man with blood now running down his face, the whole time pushing back against my very pissed off husband. "What the fuck is your problem?"

Paul stood up, and now I was trapped between two raging pitbulls, neither looking like they'd back down.

"I can show you pussy-whipped, motherfucker," Edward warned low, pointing over my shoulder.

"Edward!" I snapped, pushing with all I had against him. "We've got better things to do than worry about someone whose opinion just _doesn't fucking matter_." I said the last three words through gritted teeth, tossing a glare at Paul over my shoulder.

When I looked back to Edward, he was still pissed, but his dark eyes were locked onto my face. I gave him a pointed look, willing him to calm the fuck down. They were two men that were trained to fight, to kill, and I honestly didn't want to see who'd come out on top. Though, my money would always be on Edward.

"Yeah, go on, _pretty boy_," Paul taunted, using Mickey's nickname for Edward, but it was the shove that the asshole shot at my husband over my shoulder that caused me to move on instinct.

I grabbed his arm, twisting hard, and bent his wrist back as far and as hard as I could at the same time my knee met his crotch. Paul fell to his knees.

"I'll break it, and then you'll be shit outta luck on this ship," I told him, my face inches from his, and I twisted my grip that much harder. "Or…you can get out of my face, get us to this island, and you'll be rid of us."

By now, the deck had flooded with our crew and Paul's. Everyone was surrounding us, and Jasper and Emmett were grinning, their arms folded across their chests.

Finn walked up to Paul, leaning down over him. "What did I fucking tell you, Paul?" he asked him, giving me a quick glance. "I should let her do it. Carlisle warned you not to underestimate her, and I told you to keep your shit in check. Now look…hmm? She's got you by the balls."

Mickey, however, sauntered up, wearing a smile on her face. "What'd he do, Bells? And who broke his nose?"

"Edward," I sneered, gripping Paul's wrist that much harder.

She grinned, shooting a glance over my shoulder. "Meh. He's only thinking with his dick, Bellsy. Small thoughts, but still…"

I couldn't help but laugh, but Paul got pissed off.

"Bitch," Paul growled.

Before he could move, Mickey grabbed his misshapen nose, tweaking it just enough to cause Paul to scream and tears to flow from his eyes.

"Ah, ah, ah…" she sang at him, putting her boot on his crotch. "You're not in a position to be callin' names, buddy." She leaned in closer, shaking her head and tsking at him. "Stop staring, keep your mouth shut, and do your job. Trust me when I tell you that even if you were the last man on earth, your shit wouldn't be man enough for the job. I'd go back to women."

I snorted, shaking my head and letting Paul go, and I heard chuckles all around us. Mickey was most likely telling the damn truth, and I didn't even bother explaining to him that he came nowhere near Edward in comparison of…well, anything. I turned around to see the man in question looking rather contrite when he met my gaze, but I knew he was still tense, his temper on a razor's edge.

"You two need to stay away from each other." I held my hand up when Edward opened his mouth to argue. "I get it. I do. But I don't want to have to explain to Eleazar the disappearance of one of his operatives. That won't be pretty, especially considering he sent them to help us."

Edward smirked, but thankfully kept his mouth in check. He simply nodded.

I looked to Carlisle. "How's Boris?"

"Stable, but he needs a hospital. We're a few hours away."

"And Nicholas?" I asked, rolling my eyes when no one had an answer. I simply walked away, bracing myself for the feeling I got when I made my way down into the galley.

"That's some fine moves you got there, Miss Bella," Nicholas muttered, looking at me warily. When I gave him a curious look, he pointed toward the galley window, which would've given him a perfect view of what had just gone down.

"Thanks," I whispered, pulling him down into a chair. He'd removed his jacket, but his shirt was all torn. "Someone cleaned you up."

"Me, but not all that great, actually," he replied. "They were a touch busy with the older gentleman." I started to ask, but he held up his hand. "He's okay. They settled him into the infirmary bed." When I held up the bandage, he added, "Yeah, if you don't mind."

I shed my thicker coat, looking up when people started to trickle into the galley, but I went back to Nicholas. I helped him out of his shirt, tossing it in the garbage. Looking at his wound, I could see the bullet had shot straight through his upper bicep. Conversation broke out around us, but I concentrated on him.

"There's no bullet," I told him softly, cleaning the two open wounds. "You're kinda lucky. When we get to this island they're taking us to—"

"No hospital," he begged, looking up at me. "Just…patch me up as best you can. Please?"

"You need stitches," I argued.

"Then have at it." He waved me on with his uninjured arm.

I huffed a laugh. "It won't be pretty, but I can get the job done."

He gestured to his bare chest, where there were a fair amount of other scars and bruises. "I'm not gonna win any beauty contests, Miss Bella."

Laughing softly, I got to work, using the basic skills Esme had taught me. He actually could've won a contest or two. He was handsome, his British accent only adding to his charm. He had light brown hair, gray eyes, and long eyelashes. He had a calm demeanor – a polar opposite of Paul, who oozed aggression. And he was a tough bastard, because he took my stitches like a champ, even without anything to numb it.

"Where'd you learn how to fight?" he asked, wincing when I gave him another stitch.

"I was trained FBI," I told him, smiling when his eyebrows rose up. "I just didn't graduate from Quantico. Everything else, my husband taught me."

Nicholas laughed, leaning around me to see Edward grinning before sipping a cup of coffee. He was sitting with his dad and Jasper, looking rather smug at that statement. Actually, they all looked pretty damn smug at the moment.

"Would you have broken his arm?" he asked me, pointing to Paul, who had apparently gotten someone to snap the cartilage back into place. He was now merely nursing a bloody nose with a bag of ice, though his eye was already bruising. He looked like a pouting child.

"Maybe," I said with a breathy laugh, but it wasn't in humor. "Most likely by accident. My reaction to someone touching me without permission is…quick, and unfortunately, out of my control," I stated rather cryptically, grimacing at the thought. "He reached over me, and I reacted. I would've done it to just about anyone on this boat without thinking."

The whole galley went quiet at that statement, except for the sound of Tex in the galley kitchen. He was cooking away, wearing a content smile on his face as Alec helped him.

Before he could ask what had happened to me, I turned the tables on him. "How long were you undercover?"

"Three years," Nicholas sighed wearily. "Three miserable fucking years. Excuse me…"

Chuckling, I said, "No worries. The men behind me aren't exactly choir boys."

He laughed, nodding a little, but went on. "It started simply enough. I was just supposed to gather a list of George Stefan's customers, but then they wanted me to keep going, especially when they heard about some uranium that was about to become available," he explained. "Things went crazy when Stefan screwed Vladimir Stahl over. And now, I'm assuming with the U.S. involved, my investigation is shot to hell."

"We were asked to pull you out by your people," Finn replied, shrugging. "Though, we couldn't touch you where you were."

"Perfect," he sighed again, smiling when I finished rewrapping his arm. "I'm just ready to go home. I miss London." He glanced down at his shoulder, flexing his fingers gingerly. "Thank you."

"Mmhm," I hummed, putting the first aid kit back on the table after packing it up. "I still say you should get it checked, but I'm used to stubborn men, so…do what you want."

He grinned when the boys in my crew – including my husband and father-in-law – all burst into laughter.

"Okay, time to eat," Tex called from behind the counter. "Mickey, Bella…ladies first. The rest of you jackasses can wait."

There were jibes and teasing, but every man allowed Mickey and me to go ahead, though Edward was right behind me in line to get a plate.

"You okay, sweetness?" he asked in my ear. When I nodded, he kissed the back of my head. "When we get to Svalbard, Dad's plane will fly us home after he's settled Boris into the hospital. He's already made the call, baby. Okay?"

I nodded again. "Okay. And El?"

"He'll meet us at the hotel Alice has already booked us in," he told me.

Looking in his eyes, I could tell he wanted to say more, but he didn't, and that was most likely because we were surrounded by loud chatter and hungry people.

So I kissed his lips, whispering, "Tell me later."

He smirked. "Yes, ma'am."

**~oOo~**

Svalbard was pretty. There was no question about it. Apparently, it was a tourist location for skiers, so the hotel that Alice had put us all in was really beautiful, with warm stone fireplaces, thick wooden beams, and windows that overlooked trees and mountains.

The island itself was no bigger than the state of West Virginia. The port in which we'd docked was located in a bay on the western side of the island, and luckily, the hospital had been close by.

I stepped out of the shower, feeling a thousand times better. I was on solid ground, off that damn boat, and warm for the first time in what seemed like a week, but really, it had only been a few days.

I brushed out my hair, pulled on some pajama bottoms and a tank top, and stepped out into the room. I smiled at the sight on the bed. Edward was stretched out, his arms behind his head, making his black T-shirt rise up to show off his stomach. His eyes, though, were staring unseeingly at the ceiling.

"I didn't think you'd be back yet," I said, dropping my bag down in the chair.

"Boris is in emergency surgery," he answered softly. "Dad's still there. He wants to wait before we leave."

"Well, it's only fair, Edward," I told him, plugging my phone in to charge.

"I know," he sighed, and when I glanced over at him his eyes were on my every move. "I'm just ready for this shit to be over."

"It is," I countered, coming to stand beside him. "It's over. Well, it will be once Finn gives that crate to Eleazar."

"That's done, too. El's at the hospital with Dad," he replied, his eyes raking over me.

"Excellent, then all we have to do is wait for word on Boris's surgery," I said, leaning down to kiss his lips. "I certainly can't complain about staying here."

He smiled against my lips, and I pulled back a little, but his hand dropped to his stomach before reaching down to adjust himself. He was already partially hard, and he adjusted it from the crease of his hip almost to the waistband of his jeans.

Smirking at him, I couldn't help but tease, "Well, that didn't take much."

"It never does with you, sweetness," he said with a chuckle, grinning when I captured his hands and held them down above his head. "But…"

Smirking, I raised an eyebrow. "But what?"

With a smiling bite to his bottom lip, he moved swiftly, and I squeaked when I found myself pinned beneath him in the middle of the bed. He smelled like the cold wind from outside, the sea air still clung to his clothes, and his woodsy scent came through, reminding me of comfort and home.

Giggling up at him, I wrapped my arms around his neck. "_But_?" I urged, wanting him to finish what was on his mind.

"B-But…d-dressed l-like th-this," he sputtered sweetly, his strong thigh slipping between mine. "Dressed like this, smelling so sweet, you remind me of that first night in the mountain safe house."

My eyebrows shot up. "You mean the first night I stayed in your room."

"Yeah," he purred, nodding a little before brushing his lips across mine. His face broke out into a beautiful smile. "You woke me up on the couch, remember? Tried to tell me how decent a roommate you'd make?"

Laughing softly, I cupped his face. "I feel I was pretty truthful."

He chuckled. "We've been married for eight years, love. I'm thinking the roommate situation is just fine. And I honestly wouldn't have cared if you were a slob or not." He rolled us again, only this time, he situated himself against the pile of pillows at the headboard and guided me to straddle his lap. "I had you on my lap just like this, and you'd had such a shitty day…it was your first real panic attack. I didn't want to fuck up or scare you or hurt you. I was scared to death, Bella, but I knew…_right then_…th-that I-I'd d-do a-anything j-just t-to k-keep y-you."

Leaning in, I kissed his forehead before pressing my lips to his. His hands were everywhere, just like they'd been on the couch in his room so long ago, but his kiss, his lips, his tongue were the forceful man that drove me crazy with want.

I pulled back, reaching for his T-shirt, and he let me tug it off. "See, this is what I remember," I teased him, running my hands flat over his bare chest. "I remember thinking you were this gorgeous thing, and I wanted to play with you so badly. Well, that and the fuck-awesome orgasm you gave me."

He laughed again, leaning in to kiss up my neck. "Two, baby. I made you come twice…without even touching you."

"God, I know," I moaned, my eyes rolling back in my head as his tongue did things just behind my ear that made my whole body ache for him. "And the things you said you'd do to me…"

His grin was wicked against my neck. "I feel I was pretty truthful," he echoed my statement from before, which made me giggle.

"Yes, yes you were," I told him, cupping his face so that I could look him in the eye.

The green was flecked with gold from the fireplace behind us. His brows furrowed a little, and there was a tension in his jaw that probably wouldn't relax until we were home. But through all of that, there was the same look he'd given me from the get-go, like I was the absolute center of his universe.

"All this from a boring pair of plaid pajamas," I teased him, kissing his lips.

He shook his head, his face sobering up from our teases. "Not boring. And sometimes, it's simply the way you smell, the soap you use or whatever. It made me crave you then, even when I couldn't touch you the way I wanted. I-It m-makes m-me f-fucking c-crazy n-now b-because I-I c-can."

"Please." It was the only word I could muster with that honest confession he'd just given me.

I remembered with utter clarity the night we were talking about. I remembered the simple need and desire to be with Edward, but the inability to actually do what we both wanted. I also remembered tears and wishes for "normal."

What I remembered most of all was finding what became _our_ normal, until I'd conquered every fear.

Slowly, my tank top was peeled off, and Edward bent me back gently, kissing every scar he could or couldn't see. He kissed spots that had me giggling and writhing in his firm grasp, and then he kissed areas that made me cry out his name and beg for more. And we weren't even completely naked yet.

It wasn't until I was stripped of my pajamas and bare beneath him that I realized what he was doing. He was giving me everything he'd uttered in the dark room that night in the mountain cabin. He was kissing me everywhere: my mouth, with long, languid sweeps of his tongue; my nipples, grazing his teeth over them just to hear me gasp; and the inside of my thighs, grinning when I tried to force him where I needed him the most. But instead of giving in, he turned me onto my stomach and started over at my shoulders.

Strong, calloused hands cupped my ass, kneading it, spreading it, popping it lightly enough to cause me to squeak, but ache for more. Bracing a hand by my head, his fingers delved into me from behind, his voice deadly at my ear as my hips raised up off the bed, searching for more.

"I love making you this fucking wet, baby," he whispered, dropping an open-mouthed kiss to my shoulder. "Come on my hand, sweetness. Show me what I do to you…"

In and out, his fingers curled deeply, occasionally slipping over and around my clit. I was on the brink of coming when the heat of his body left my back. My hips were yanked up so that I was on my knees, and I cried out when his mouth replaced his fingers. He kissed my pussy like he kissed my mouth – long, slow, deep – until his mouth latched onto my clit, and then I shattered beneath him, my hands gripping the covers of the bed as one of his soothed the middle of my back.

The unmistakable sound of his zipper broke me from my haze, and I rolled over onto my back, holding my arms out for him. He kicked out of his black jeans and crawled over me, settling between my legs.

I grasped either side of his face and kissed him. He tasted like me, but I didn't care. Reaching down, he wrapped my leg higher around his waist, slipping slowly and deliciously inside me.

"Fuck," he whispered, his eyes squeezing closed as his entire body was taut with the urge to thrust. "I wanted you just like this that night, sweetness."

"Believe me, I did, too," I breathed back, swallowing thickly at just how sweet he was, how honest he could be when it came to our relationship. I was grateful that hadn't changed over the years.

His eyes opened to gaze down at me. "I'm not sorry. For anything we went through. I'd do it again. In a fucking heartbeat."

Grinning, I kissed him again. "I love you, Edward."

"Sweetness, I love you, too. And I'm gonna keep you in this bed as long as I can," he growled teasingly into my neck. "You feel too fucking good."

As he began to move slowly, my head fell back to the bed, and I knew he meant it.

**~oOo~**

**EDWARD**

I tipped the young girl delivering room service. She spoke not a word of English, but she stared wide-eyed at me from the doorway. There was no telling what she saw: my bare chest, my ink, my crazed hair, or maybe the love bite Bella had somehow left just below my bellybutton, which I barely remember her doing. That thought made me chuckle as I smiled and waved the poor girl away before closing the door.

"Oh, God…I smell coffee," Bella murmured from somewhere underneath the pile of covers. "Please, tell me it's not a dream."

Grinning, I rolled the cart near the bed, falling to the edge of the mattress. "No dream, sweetness. I ordered room service."

She fought adorably with the covers, finally popping out looking like sex incarnate. "Oh, now I know I love you."

"Shut up," I said with a laugh, watching as she pulled on my black T-shirt from the night before. As she wandered into the bathroom, I called out, "You'd better hurry. I'm starving, woman!"

She emerged a few minutes later, her hair pulled up into a ponytail, but still in my shirt. "You're not the only starving one. Share, buddy."

Chuckling, I handed her a cup of coffee, and we sat on the bed, picking off the same plate of eggs, toast, and sausage.

"Any news?" she asked, and I shook my head, reaching for my phone.

"Nothing yet," I told her. "I forgot to tell you that Kurt's here."

"Here? As in this hotel?" she asked.

"Yeah, he and Irina will fly back with us to Anchorage on Dad's plane." I glanced over at her. "I think he's gonna quit, love."

"What? Why? What makes you say that?" she asked, sitting up next to me.

"Just before I came in our room last night, he asked if you and I could make time to speak with him. Soon," I told her. My brow furrowed at just how sad that made her, but I cupped her face. "Baby, this job…this life isn't for everyone. And he's seen some pretty rough shit in his short time working for us. I get the impression that Irina wants to go back to New York."

"He's gonna follow her, huh?"

Smiling at her, I said, "I would've gone anywhere you told me to, Bella. So I can't exactly fault him on that one. She's a good person."

"Oh no, she's great," Bella agreed, smiling. "I just…I guess I'll always see him as the young kid trying to get his shit together."

"And he did, love. He's regulated his meds for bi-polar, he was paid very well, and he's grown a helluva lot since he's been with us," I told her.

I sipped my coffee, watching my girl push the sadness away. To her, each and every member of Gravity was family, and to lose one was hard on her. Reaching up, I trailed a finger down the side of her face, tilting her chin up so I could see her eyes.

"Maybe I'm wrong, sweetness. Maybe he just needs time off," I backpedaled, hoping like hell it would wipe the sad look off her face. "In fact, we could simply offer him that…like an open-ended leave of absence."

She nodded. "Yeah," she sighed deeply, sipping her coffee. "I just hate breaking up the team."

Smiling, I pulled her to me, dropping a kiss to her forehead. "The team will adjust. I promise."

I was just about to ask her what she wanted to do for the day, but there was a knock on the door.

"Edward, son," my dad muttered from the other side.

Bella got up, pulling on her pajama bottoms from the night before, and I opened the door to see my dad looking absolutely ragged.

"Jesus, Dad, have you even slept?" I asked, but he stepped into the room with a shake of his head.

Bella guided him to the sofa on the other side of the room, handing him a cup of coffee. "What happened, Carlisle?" she asked, sitting beside him.

He sighed, looking up to me.

"Boris didn't make it," I surmised.

"He almost didn't, but he's stable now," my dad replied. "The bastard flat-lined twice on the table, but they got him back." He snorted humorlessly with a slow shake of his head. He took a sip of coffee, looking between us. "A quadruple-fucking-bypass."

"Fuck," I hissed, sitting across from them. "What are they saying?"

"They're saying he needs at-home care, which he doesn't have. And possibly a defibrillator put in…which they can't do here."

"What's gonna happen to him?" Bella asked.

My dad gazed over at her, tapping her chin. "I'll help him. I owe him."

Smiling, I shook my head. "Do either one of you two old farts know exactly who owes whom?"

He flipped me his middle finger, smirking. "No, probably not."

Bella giggled, kissing his cheek. "What do you need us to do?"

"Nothing," he sighed. "He can't be moved yet, so I've got time to convince him to let me help him." He stood up. "Medically, it would be better if I could transport him to Seattle. He's alone. If the situation was reversed, he'd do the same for me." Bella stood up next to him, and he cupped her face. "Besides Charlie, Boris is one of my oldest friends. One of the few I've got left."

"Then whatever you need, Dad," I stated, knowing exactly who he'd lost throughout the years.

"I know you two – and everyone else for that matter – are ready to fly home. I just…I'd like another day to get some sleep and for Boris to wake up so I can talk to him. Then we can head home," he stated.

"Not a problem," I agreed, gripping his shoulder. "I'll let the others know."

Bella closed the door behind him, leaning back against it. "I guess we'll have everyone meet us downstairs at the restaurant for lunch. We'll update them on everything. I doubt anyone will have a problem with one more day."

"Nah, probably not," I said, sending a text to the crew for a meeting in a few hours. I set the phone down, saying, "Done. Now…" Bracing my hands on either side of her head, I dropped a kiss to her lips. "That still gives me a couple of hours before we have to act like responsible adults with meetings to have and kids to call and planes to arrange. Get that sweet ass back in bed."

Bella's giggle was adorable, but she wrapped her arms around my neck. "Make me, Cullen."

"Okay," I growled, reaching down to pick her up and toss her over my shoulder. I popped her ass before dropping her to the middle of the bed. "Never dare me, sweetness."

"Shut up, Edward," she chortled through her laughter. "Shut up and get over here."

Chuckling, I simply answered her with a kiss.

**~oOo~**

**A/N… I know that most of you were worried about Boris, so you'll be happy that he'll make it. And you'll find out what Kurt wants to talk about with Edward and Bella.**

**Like I said up top, there's one more regular chapter and the epi left. I'm doing my best to get them finished for you. They'll post when they post. Again, I apologize, but this flu truly kicked my ass. I was in bed for five days straight…and I'm still wheezing. Blech! **

**You can still find me on Twitter and FB…all teasers are posted there. The links are on my profile.**

**Until next time… Mooches, Deb ;)**


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